Otokoyama Junmai Kimoto Cup

Hailing from the snowy inland of Hokkaido, Otokoyama kimoto cup is a solid choice for pairing with almost any cuisine. It's mild and mellow on the palate, with gentle savory notes of braised sweet onion, pureed parsnip, rice porridge, and maple, and a soft, lightly creamy texture.

This is a good choice for experimenting with how sake interacts with temperature, because it takes on subtle changes throughout its range of temps, and some of them are better than others. I recommend this lightly chilled, room temp, warm, and tea-hot. When it's chilled, the texture and umami are toned down, but it's more refreshing. At room temp, the umami and texture are in good harmony. Lightly warmed (just above body temp), the umami and light sweetness are emphasized. I found that at very warm and hot temps, the acidity got out of balance and it became unpleasant. But at tea temperature (very hot), it takes on a totally different shape, a sort of tea-like, lightly astringent umami. But if you do take it that hot, know that once it cools down it will lose some of its original character and balance. So just keep it hot, and finish it up.