Our Take

Bring this one to your next salad or chicken dinner. On its own, the Nambu Bijin Tokubetsu Junmai is a solid sake with elements of tender stone fruit. It also has an overall clean flavor profile and low-to-medium acidity.

Where it really shines though is the food pairing potential with deep flavored sauces like an orange glaze or a mayonnaise-base slathered on white meats. When you have a sake that can pull off double duty as a taster’s sake and food pairing, it’s pretty easy to call this it a good value. Serve chilled on its own, or with salads and white meats.

More about Nambu Bijin

Details

• Tokubetsu Junmai

• Seimaibuai: 55%

• Yeast: 9

• Water: Semi-hard

• 720ml

• Made in Iwate

Our Take

This is Kikumasamune’s first foray into the premium market in 130 years. Called “Hyaku Moku”, the sake is a junmai ginjo made with 100% Yamada Nishiki grown in Miki City, Hyogo Prefecture. Hyaku Moku has well-balanced richness, ripe fruit, medium body, soft texture and robust umami.

Hyaku Moku pairs well with Italian and French cuisine thanks to its profile resembling a barrel-aged California chardonnay wine.

Details

• Junmai Ginjo

• Seimaibuai: 59%

• 720ml

• Made in Hyogo

Our Take

Azumaichi “Higashi Ichi” Junmai Daiginjo is a complex, medium-full bodied sake with fantastic aromas of ripe cantaloupe, guava and even a touch of ramune. It has balanced acidity, medium-long finish, and a taste reminiscent of ripe banana.

This is a fantastic sake to chill, relax and enjoy on the porch with. The Azumaichi can also be paired with grilled chicken dishes like chicken satay, and even richer foods like fois gras! Overall, it’s an excellent quality sake that anybody will love.

Tasting Notes

• Cantaloupe

• Guava

• Ramune

• Ripe banana

• Medium-full body

Details

• Junmai Dai Ginjo

• Seimaibuai: 39%

• 720ml

• Brewery: Gochouda Brewery

• Made in Saga prefecture

Our Take

Tamajiman Yamahai Jumnai Genshu from Ishikawa Brewery based in Tokyo, Japan at the offset strikes a classic sake profile: it’s clean, medium-to-fuller bodied and inspires you to grab some charcoal grilled skewers like yakitori. You’ll certainly want to have some food with this sake.

Where it shines more is when you gently heat up the Tamajiman sake to jo-kan (115 degrees F/45 degrees C) or even atsu-kan (125 degrees F/50 degrees Celsius). At that point, heat draws out a surprising sweetness in the sake that keeps you refilling your sakazuki cup time after time. If there was a sake to open up with your warm meal especially on the colder days, this is it.

Details

• Junmai Ginjo

• Seimaibuai: 65%

• 720ml

• Made in Tokyo

Our Take

This is a more refined version of Kikumasamune’s Hyaku Moku. Similar to their junmai ginjo, this junmai daiginjo is made with 100% Yamada Nishiki grown in Hyogo Prefecture but grounded to a 39% rich polishing ratio.

As a result, Hyaku Moku daiginjo is has a slightly richer profile with excellent balance of acidity and dryness. There are tropical fruit tones like juicy lychee and subtle hints of strawberry.

Details

• Junmai Daiginjo

• Seimaibuai: 39%

• 720ml

• Made in Hyogo

Food pairing

• mellow foods

• fish, ceviche

• grilled morsels of meat and vegetables

• Mediterranean foods including tabouleh

Our Take

Brewed using black koji (kuro koji) instead of using yellow koji, Ikegame’s junmai daiginjo produces slightly more aciditiy and allows the sake to pair well with different meat dishes. The result is also a soft, delicate and slight fruity finish with a splashy aroma of apples. Enjoyable to have slightly chilled by itself or with food.

Tasting Notes

• Fantastic aroma of apples

• Delicate profile

• Slightly higher acidity

• Overall well balanced; drier—though not too dry

Details

• Junmai Daiginjo

• Brewery: Ikegame

• Rice: Yamadanishiki

• Seimaibuai: 50%

• Recommended serving style: slightly chilled

• 720ml

• Made in Fukuoka

Our Take

Find subtle elegance in Otokoyama’s Kita no Inaho, a junmai daiginjo sake made for those who appreciate refinement and depth.

With a mild, grape-on-the-vine aroma and a clean, understated profile, this sake speaks to the seasoned palate, revealing layers of nuanced rice character. It’s suited for pairing with delicate dishes like sushi, steamed fish, or even something like a Chinese steamed chicken with hot oil and green onions; and its restrained elegance allows flavors of a meal to shine.

Otokoyama Kita no Inaho is so smooth and unassuming that you'll find yourself effortlessly reaching for many glasses of the bottle. It’s a great choice for sake enthusiasts looking for something nuanced and sophisticated.

Details

• Made by Otokoyama Co.

• Junmai Daiginjo

• 720ml

• Made in Hokkaido