Kasumi Tsuru Yamahai Namacho Honjozo Sake
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Zesty, vivid, sharp and bright. Dark rum mojito vibes. Minty, woodsy, high-toned notes with resonant bass tones of okinawan brown sugar. At 17%, this single-pasteurized, fresh yamahai honjozo drinks dense and moody, behaving like it belongs in a vintage rocks glass. Some would say it's the drier, crisper spiritual successor to Denshin Fuyu.
Gohyakumangoku raised in cooler northern Hyogo is the lesser-known side of Hyogo sake, and the home of the labor force that birthed modern sake in the south. Traveling together, groups of men left heart and home behind each winter to labor in the breweries of southern Itami and Nada, right near Kobe-Osaka. The wild-fermented, often aged and cedar-finished kimoto junmai's of the Tamba Toji guild--organized, skilled migrant sake workers-- defined the meteoric rise of sake in the 1700s.
But for all the southern Hyogo breweries like Kenbishi and Sawanotsuru, a few cropped up in the guild hometowns of the North, too. Thus Kasumi Tsuru was born in 1725 and persists today, notably specializing in the kimoto and yamahai wild-fermented styles of their guild heritage. It's a subtle gesture of local pride that they use local Gohyakumangoku rice here rather than the wildly famous Yamada Nishiki rice of the warmer south.
Rice: Gohyakumangoku (Hyogo)
Polishing: 68%
Alcohol: 17-18%
Yeast: 701
Serving Temperature: Chilled, Room Temperature or Warm
Location: Kasumi-cho, Hyogo Prefecture
Toji: Tatsuya Matsumoto
Tucked on the northern side of Hyogo prefecture and just a short drive from the coast, Kasumi-Cho is a hidden gem that has been steadily brewing delicious sake for centuries. Although most think of Kobe and its famous Nada District in the south when it comes to sake from Hyogo Prefecture, Kasumi Tsuru benefits from the terroir of Northern Hyogo in terms of high-quality sake-specific rice such as Gohyakumangoku and Kita Nishiki. Being in close proximity to the ocean also means an abundance of delicious seafood in addition to other local delicacies.
Founded in 1725, Kasumi Tsuru is also one of the rarest sorts of breweries in Japan, in that they *only* brew using Kimoto and Yamahai methods. Master Brewer Matsumoto embraces these meticulous and laborious methods of brewing, creating lactic acid 100% naturally by hand, a process that takes more than twice the time but locks in much more depth and rich umami. This wild fermentation step produces a complexity that competitors can't replicate.
To Kasumi Tsuru, being the local pride of Tajima region is very important. The company creed is “Tajima no Hokori tare” (Do Tajima proud), and their policy is “quality first, community first, and cordiality first."
.72 YPR. Excellent!
