Ohmine 3 Grain Natsujun "Kasumi" Namazake
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Ohmine's flagship summer sake: a 50% polish Yamadanishiki brew made with local rice and balanced to a nice, light, mildly effervescent 14% ABV balance.
The nose is clean and ricey, not a ginjo bomb-- a touch of crisp peach. On the palate of a freshly opened bottle, we get this wonderful! Bright pop of CO2 that takes me back to Kaze no Mori, a gentle touch of astringency that reminds me of tonic water or Japanese cider (think Mitsuya Cider, a lemon-lime-gingery, mildly sweet sweetness soft drink). There is plenty of fruit here too-- It is Natsuzake after all!-- Sweet green grape, ripe Asian pear, ripe persimmon and tangerine. But this surprisingly revitalizing mix of astringency, fresh effervescence and mellow fruit make Kasumi Natsujun one to remember.
Ohmine Shuzo, 大嶺酒造
Location: Yamaguchi Prefecture
Rice: Yamada Nishiki
Polish: 50%
Water: Benten spring water (soft)
Yeast: N/A
SMV: N/A
Acidity: N/A
Alcohol: 14.5%
Pasteurization: None
In the words of Jim Rion, author of Discovering Yamaguchi Sake, a technical sake translator and co-hoster of the (excellent!) Sake Deep Dive podcast, “Ohmine Shuzo in Yamaguchi Prefecture is less a sake brewery and more a sake industry black box a’la Willy Wonka’s enigmatic chocolate factory.” Staff are “dressed in chic black designer uniforms,” the Bauhaus concrete construction is modernist and sleek, and the menu offers a wider assortment of lattes than sake. It’s also in the middle of nowhere, and while the design is open and airy, tours are not allowed nor is any technical detail offered. Sake is priced roughly 50% higher, spec for spec, than neighboring breweries, and it’s apparent that Japanese sake aficionados aren’t the target. Actually, in a way, we (American consumers) are.
A pink and blue neon sign (should I call it art?) hangs in the foyer, cryptically reading: 1882: BORN / 1955: DEAD / 2010: REBORN / 2018: SAKE AGAINST THE WORLD. This is as much backstory as you’ll get for a long-shuttered rural brewery, resurrected by the architect son who returned to Yamaguchi from NYC. 2018 brought a new facility and Stockholm Design Lab rebranding, while 2020 brought the fortuitous investment, creative vision and pop culture hype of Pharrel Williams and NIGO. Fortunately, the quality backs it up.
The brewery recommends pairing with refreshing, summery dishes- eggplant and myoga salad, flounder kombujime sashimi, summer vegetable ratatouille, etc.
Serve well chilled in a wine glass.