Four Tokyo Sakes

Recently, I drank four types of sake that come from my neighboring three cities of Fussa, Akiruno, and Ome. The sakes are Tamajiman (多満自慢), Kasen (嘉泉), Kisho (喜正), and Sawanoi (澤乃井). They are all namazake (nonpasteurized sake) of honjozo or tokubetsu honjozo.



These sakes are those I often drink without paying any special attention, but this time I compared them with each other, and could find differences between them. Interesting.

Ishikawa Brewery Tamajiman Namataro (石川酒造 多満自慢 生太郎) Honjozo Namazake
Tasty sake with a rich namazake flavor, slight sweetness, and meaningful taste

Tamura Shuzoujou Kasen (田村酒造場 嘉泉) Tokubetsu Honjozo Nama
Dry sake with a flinty clean-cut taste. It also exhibits a flavor of koji, giving a bold impression.

Nozaki Syuzou Kisho (野崎酒造 喜正) Honjozo Nama
Sake with a flavor of namazake and meaningfulness. Impressive sake.

Ozawa Syuzou Sawanoi (小澤酒造 澤乃井) Honjo Nama
A dry and clean taste with acidity.

I don't intend to say which one is nice or which one is bad. However, in terms of my preference, I would choose Kisho. I myself usually do not think of pairing with foods and just drinking sake without food is also O.K. with me. In such a case, flinty clean dry sake with rather strong acidity like Sawanoi Honjo Nama may not be suitable for drinking it singly. However, such sake is maybe nice when you are eating various foods.