A sake drinker Ichibay reports events that occur in his daily life and coveys his casually conceived ideas, focusing especially on sake and sake-related items and events. He sometimes writes about his short trips in his country Japan or provides some Japanese cultural stuff related to kimono, local performing arts, etc.
Last Friday, I attended a party at izakayaOumi in Tachikawa City for its repeat customers.
The party organizers, after obtaining the understanding from the manager of this izakaya, made this party such a wonderful event that we could drink all the sake stored in the big refrigerator at this izakaya. However, the time was limited to two hours and it was virtually impossible for us (we were about 15 people) to empty all of the several tens of 1,800-ml bottles.
Nevertheless, after paying only 4,000 yen as the entrance fee to this event, we could drink our favorite sake to our heart's content. So, this event seemed like a heaven on earth for sake lovers. They had probably more non-pasteurized sake than pasteurized sake. I was happy since I normally prefer non-pasteurized sake.
The most favorite sake I drink this day was Tokubetsujunmai Kitajima Muroka Nama Genshu (特別純米北島無濾過生原酒). The rice variety named "Wataribune" is used to make this sake.
And, just as usual, a drunken Ichibay happily enjoyed drinking with pretty women, a ha ha ha ha.
Last Saturday, I first intended not to go out for drinking. Instead, I planned to stay at home and work on my jobs.
Friends who went to Asakusa for drinking called me and tried hard to make me go to join them. But, I turned down their invitation. It was thought that I was to drink no alcohol that day.
However, I finally went out for dinking to Fussa, the next town.
The izakaya we visited was formerly called "Aguraya" and is now called "Lucky Sakaba." All the sake this izakaya carries are those with the brand names of "Kasen" or "Tamura," which are from Tamura Syuzoujou, a local sake brewery in Fussa City.
The woman who first became interested in going to this Lucky Sakaba was Employee A (she calls herself by this name in her blog) working for Ozawa Syuzou. "Is it all right for an employee who is working for Ozawa Syuzou to benefit Tamura Syuzoujou?" mischievously I asked her. "It is important to know what sake our competitor is making" was her reply. Well, it seemed to make sense.
After being seated at the counter, we first ordered "Kasen Tokubetsu Honjozo Nama" (嘉泉特別本醸造生), and fresh young ginger sticks and some skewers of yakitori to be paired. It is quite a refreshing experience to drink summer nama sake while gnawing on a ginger stick.
After the nama sake, we ordered Tamura (田むら). There are two types of Tamura from Tamura Syuzoujou. The difference is the rice to be used. This time, we ordered the Tamura made from Yamasake No.4 rice (山酒4号). This sake looked a bit cloudy and I believe ordinary Tamura is not cloudy. So, I wondered if this was a special version of Tamura, and asked a waiter why the sake was cloudy. According to his explanation, the glass that was quite chilled, and the chilled glass made the sake look cloudy. But actually, the sake was obviously cloudy. Anyway, it was good sake.
Then, we had Kiwametsuke Karakuchi (極め付け辛口). It was apparently regular sake. Low-priced sake from this brewery is also nice. A rich and complex taste often found in low-priced sake is difficult to find in high-end ginjo sake. Lately, I often have experiences in which I really think regular sake is better than ginjo sake.
When we drank Honjozo Maboroshi-no-sake (本醸造幻の酒), I felt I was quite drunken. So, we quitted drinking and went home.
This Lucky Sakaba seems to offer skewered foods such as yakitori as main selling menus, and their foods and sake are reasonably priced and nice. For example, 300-ml bottle of Kasen Honjozo Nama was 900 yen.
Finally, at the end of this post, I present the movie of the Tamura Syuzoujou. This movie was taken in October of 2009.
I was given Smoked Tofu, a new piece of merchandise from Sawanoi Mamagotoya.
I tasted it, of course, with Sawanoi sake.
They say the smoked tofu tastes like cream cheese. However, it feels somehow gritty, which tells you that this is not cheese but tofu. Well-balanced flavoring with soy sauce and miso paste, as well as use of sake lees as an ingredient, has made this food a nice companion of sake.
The sake I drank with this smoked tofu was Sawanoi Honjo Nama.
Yesterday, I suddenly went out to Yakumo Shrine in Kawai, Okutama Town. There was no special event at the shrine yesterday. In the spring, I visited this shrine to see shishimai lion dances, local performing arts in this vicinity, and then, I was impressed by the atmosphere of the shrine and I liked being there.
When leaving home yesterday, it was not raining, but it began to drizzle around the time I got to the shrine. There was not a soul on the premises of the shrine, and I could only hear the quiet rainfall. This place has such a quiet and nice atmosphere that I want to visit this place from time to time.
After leaving the shrine, I visited Gykudo Museum close to Mitake Station, which is the next to Kawai Station. This museum was built after the famous Japanese-style painter Gyokudo Kawai passed away, owning and exhibiting many of his works.
Until I visited the museum I did not know the fact the day of my visit falls on the deathday of the painter. In commemoration of his deathday, I was given two postcards, on which his works were printed. One of these works was "Natsu-kawa" (or "Summer river"), which I liked very much. This painting was actually exhibited in the museum.
"Postcard of Natsu-kawa"
In the picture, five anglers are fishing in the river occupying their favorite points. Maybe, they are fishing sweetfish?
All what have been painted are a dry riverbed blindingly shining in the summer sun, clear water, and the anglers.
In my childhood, I used to go to the river for bathing and fishing. This picture reminded me such old days. The river in my town was just like that in this picture.
Sitting on the riverside, I used to watch the water flowing absent-mindedly. Then, I often felt unsure whether the river was flowing or the ground where I was sitting on was being drifted. It seemed that this picture could reproduce even such dizzy feeling.
Well, when I fully satisfied my eyes with paintings of Gyokudo, my tongue, in turn, demanded to be satisfied.
The Japanese restaurant Imoutoya (http://www.sawanoi-sake.com/imoutoya/index.html) is just next door to Gykudo Museum. It is run by Ozawa Syuzou, a sake brewery known for its brand name Sawanoi. I ordered the sake tasting set Ki Sho Ten Ketsu (起承転結), which included four sakes from the brewery: Sawane (さわ音), Honjozo Nama (本醸造生), Soten (蒼天), and Daiginjo (大吟醸), and I also had a lunch set.
Of the four sakes, I like Sawane best. Its high acidity makes the sake refreshing in this time of year (Sawane is limited to the summer season, though).
When new sake is ready for sale in the winter, I often purchase namazake made in Tokyo that I have ordered in advance at a nearby liquor shop.
Drinking new namazake is very refreshing and pleasant. However, I have a slight impression of carbon dioxide gas in winter's namazake, and feel a somehow burning taste on the tongue.
By contrast, I like namazake sold around at this time of year. Such namazake has been aged for about half a year, and is mellower and more drinkable than that drunk in winter.
Before, I had an ambiguous conception that namazake produced in Tokyo was not very good. However, reflecting the above described circumstance, it was partly because I live in Tokyo and I can drink Tokyo's newly-brewed namazake frequently in winter.
Now in summer I drink namazake from a brewery in Tokyo, and actually I think it is very nice.
Today's Tokyo sake is Kasen Funeshibori Muroka Nama Genshu (嘉泉「ふねしぼり無濾過生原酒」). I drank this tokubetsu honjozo sake several times before, but it was winter when I drank it. Now in summer, I like this sake more than before. Thus, I realized summer is a good season to drink namazake.
Anyway, of course, beer is also good in summer, especially when I drink it with being surrounded by kimono ladies in a beer garden.
It may be late to write about this, but Toshimaya Syuzou (豊島屋酒造) held a nomikiri event on June 6, Sunday. (Nomikiri is one of the sake making processes and occurs several months after the target sake is stored in a tank for aging. In a nomikiri process, the sake is tasted to check its quality.)
On that day, they opened their brewery to public. People could enter the brewery and taste their sake on the premises for an admittance fee of 500 yen. The presented sakes included the three nomikiri sakes, limited sakes, sakes sent in the National New Sake Contest in the past, sakes on shelves, and other sakes.
The following are nomikiri sakes of this year: 1. Junmai ginjo genshu (Hattan-nishiki rice is used.) 2. Junmai genshu (General rice is used.) 3. Tokusen genshu (General rice is used.)
The first sake tasted somehow blunt, but it may become better after a little aging period. As to the second sake, I could feel a pleasant sweetish sensation of rice. The third one was the most favorite sake of the three to me. It was the richest in taste, and I bought two bottles of this.
In the limited sake corner, I could sample namazake (non-pasteurized sake) and nama-chozoshu (sake only once pasteurized before shipment). The following two sakes were especially nice: 4. Junmai ginjo muroka nama genshu 5. Hyo-on san-nen junmai ginjo muroka nama genshu (sake stored for three year at the temperature of ice) The limited sakes were being sold on that day, but they didn't have so many bottles. When I went to the selling counter, the No. 5 bottles were already sold out and someone was buying the last No. 4 bottle. Anyway, I didn't have intention to purchase more bottles since I had already two bottles at that time.
I enjoyed this nomikiri event very much.
By the way, this brewery won a gold prize at the National New Sake Contest. Congratulations on the brewery's and toji-san's (brewer master's) achievement!
Ozawa Syuzou, known for its brand name Sawanoi, is selling genshu (undiluted sake) named "Umeshu-ni-shitara-oishii-genshu" (literally means "Undiluted Sake Good for Making Umeshu (plum wine)). This sake is the undiluted version of Okutama-yusui-shikomi, the most reasonably-priced sake of the company. Its alcohol content is 20 to 21%, and it is difficult to drink this sake as-is. This sake will be easier to drink when drunk after being diluted or on the rocks. And, this sake is, as its name suggests, intended for making umeshu.
In the garden at home, there are several plum trees, and, in spite of the fact that plums suffered poor harvest this year, I had enough plum fruits for making umeshu.
So, I decided to make umeshu this year.
Using sake for umeshu makes umeshu more quickly than using shochu. Probably, I will be able to drink good umeshu in a moth.
Actually, I sipped some only two days after the day I prepared the umeshu bottle, and it tasted like almost completed umeshu! Now, I am anticipating a good finish.
