Stupid Sake question for Japanese born peeps only.

[Alpeia]

Ok I have a question about Sake. I have seem to fall in love with Sayuri Nigori Sake. I love the flavour, the water used, to me it's heaven. I drink it chilled. But it comes in a pink little bottle and I was just wondering if the drink was meant for the females. Well even it is, I'll never give it up! :sadomaso:

So can someone from Japan enlighten me, please.

Also if you know of any other Sake that is really good, chilled, room temperature or heated, please let me know. :nosebleed:

I've also tried the one in the Blue bottle, Haklitsuru Junmai Ginjo, but that one is better at room temperature to me.

Thx.

Ooops! I think I might have posted this in the wrong thread, sorry! I think it belongs in the Japan thread...

 

[aquamarine]

I'd answer but I'm not Japanese born. Nor is about 99.99999% of the folks on the forum (that's factoring in a +/- variability of .00001)

 

[Alpeia]

I'd answer but I'm not Japanese born. Nor is about 99.99999% of the folks on the forum (that's factoring in a +/- variability of .00001)

OK anyone that knows then, I was having a little the night I wrote it. :tea:

 

[techie]

Actually some sake that comes in a pink bottle is not only for women but sometimes also made with plum extract.
To be more specific, there are millions of sake variations and some of the flavored varieties are quite tasty indeed. I had the great fortune of spending some time in Germany on the worlds largest food expo recently (Anuga 2009) and spent half a day tasting various sake types from a Japanese supplier.

When you stumble on the one you like, there is little regard for the coloring of the bottle to consider but enjoy the sake as it was meant to be enjoyed.

Actually few outside of Japan consider Sake to be a wine in the first place, although it should be.'
And it is becoming more common knowledge that it is a wine and not some sort of liqure or brandy.

 

[HarutoAsou]

What does being born in Japan have to do with knowing the answer to this question?

Anyways techie nailed it I think. The fact of the matter is in Asia colours aren't really restricted to boys and girls (well at least to a lesser extent than North America that is). Guys in Korea commonly wear pastel colours and pink shirts because it's "cute" and Korean girls love "cute" guys. When I lived in Canada my wardrobe mostly consisted of black, white, grey and occassionally blue, now I have yellow, green, lime, red, and tons of other colour shirts that would probably label me gay if I wore them back home : P

 

[Alpeia]

What does being born in Japan have to do with knowing the answer to this question?
: P

Yes I totally agree, as I mentioned I had a bit that night, maybe a little more then I should have. But its just sooo good. My thinking, I'm assuming was that someone from Japan would know for sure. In the morning when I checked I realized I made an error in doing that. But it was too late... :notagain: Oh that sake!

 

[aroma.j]

Frankly, given the decline of popularity of Nihonshu in recent years, I would be pleasantly surprised if one in 1000 native Japanese could tell you much about it. A word of advice: Use your five senses and your brain for studying and all be revealed. It helps if one lives in Japan - access to a greater variety of the stuff.

Sayuri is made by Hakatsuru, one of largest Sake breweries in Japan:

http://www.hakutsuru.co.jp/

They make some real cheap stuff (in paper cartons) but some if it is not so bad. Established in 1743. Personally I prefer more "local"/smaller brewers.

Here is the page for this particular stuff:

http://www.hakutsuru.co.jp/product/nihonshu/sayuri.shtml

It's a type of junmaishu (純米酒). No extra alcohol is added in the final stages of brewing of junmaishu. So it's particularly difficult to achieve a balance in the finished product. It requires skill on the part of the brewer.

There many laws in Japan regarding the brewing of Sake and depending on the brewing method the rice has to be polished a certain amount. For example, the most expensive (in terms of cost and end price to the consumer) brewing method is called jyunmaidaiginjou (純米大吟醸), by law the rice must be polished until less then 50% is left. However many makers will polish to 30% in order to extract a certain taste or to lend exclusivity to the brand.

In 2005 the law was revised and the rule regarding junmaishu polishing was eliminated. It's now possible to brew junmaishu legally without polishing to 70% (the old law). Frankly I'm not impressed with this decision to lower quality standards so I cannot agree with the revision.

Sayuri is made with water, rice and yeast only - Hakutsuru is still polishing to 70% to maintain quality.

Nigorizake is basically the dregs from the bottom of the tank after the clear stuff is drawn off for other products. It contains the unfermented rice fragments, etc. Sayuri is really smooth and it's hard to detect individual grains of rice.

As far as the bottle goes, it's just the design. The colors and patterns on the bottle are used in many traditional arts such as papermaking and pottery. It's meant to evoke a mental picture of the what's on the inside.

Is it working?