@supportsake Natsuzake Flight
@supportsake NATSUZAKE FLIGHT
Natsuzake, the compounded form of natsu 夏 (summer) & sake 酒 is a modern invention dating from only 2007. It was devised as a marketing initiative to help sake during its lowest-performing months. While other seasonal sake arises from kanzukuri, the ~400 year old tradition of Winter brewing, natsuzake is entirely by design. This gives brewers the freedom to interpret natsuzake however they please. Fruity and juicy, light and astringent, spritzy and cloudy... sometimes frozen to a slush (mizorezake), on the rocks, highball, or even warmed: natsukan (summer hot)!
1. TENSEI “INFINITE SUMMER” Tokubetsu Honjozo / Kanagawa ($33/ 720ml) Rice: Gohyakumangoku Polishing: 60%, ABV: 15%, SMV: 7, #901 Recommended: chilled, room, warm Storage: cool/dark, enjoy within 12 mo.
This sessionable honjozo reminds me of lounging beachside with a nice cold Mexican lager stuffed with a wedge of lime and a dash of salt. The brand “Tensei” is inspired by a Chinese proverb: “After the rain, the sky is blue and the clouds are broken.” Infinite Summer, Fuuro 颯流 in Japanese, means something like, “the wind sweeping through moist earth and blue sky.”
2. KINOENE “OKARAKUCHI NATSU NO NAMAZAKE” Junmai Nama / Chiba ($41/ 720ml) Rice: Fusakogane, Gohyakumangoku Polishing: 80%, 68%, ABV: 16%, SMV: 7, #601 Recommended: chilled, warm Storage: refrigerator, enjoy within 6 mo.
Iinuma Honke makes different versions of Kinoene “Okarakuchi”-- aka very dry-- for each season. This is the summer edition, unpasteurized and undiluted. The low, 80% polished table rice lends full-bodied umami and pointed acidity, while the sake is bottled with a touch of fizz to cool you down. This sake is crafted specifically to beat the heat, but it warms up pretty nicely, too.
3. KID “NATSU NO SHIPPOU” Junmai Ginjo Nama / Wakayama ($38/ 720ml) Rice: Gohyakumangoku Polishing: 50-55%, ABV: 15%, SMV: 4 Yeast: #901, 10, 14, 1801 (blend) Recommended: chilled Storage: refrigerator, enjoy within 6 mo.
“Natsu no Shippu” means summer’s strong wind, and KID is- as usual- on point with this bright and refreshing seasonal release. This year has a little more sweetness at first, and a crisp astringency on the finish which reads dry. The sake is made with a blend of 4 yeasts to achieve the perfect balance of aroma and body.
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SAKE CLASSIFICATIONS MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR CLASSIFICATION IN THE JAPANESE TOKUTEI MEISHO-SHU SYSTEM (1990)
Basic Ingredients | Rice, Koji, Water | Minimum Rice Polishing Ratio Required: | Rice, Koji, Water + Alcohol
Premium grades of sake - “Tokutei Meisho-Shu” | Junmai Daiginjo 純米大吟醸酒 “June- mai - dai- geen- joe” | 50% | Daiginjo 大吟醸酒 “Dai- geen- joe” | Junmai Ginjo 純米吟醸酒 “June- mai - geen- joe” | 60% | Ginjo 吟醸酒 “Geen- joe” | Junmai 純米酒 “June- mai” | 70% | Honjozo 本醸造酒 “Hawn- joe- zo” | | 100 | Futsushu 普通酒 “Foo - tsoo- shu” *saccharides, acidifiers, aminos, >alcohol — Table Sake | Tokubetsu Junmai 特別純米 “Toe- koo- bet- soo- june- mai” | X% | Tokubetsu Honjozo 特別本醸造) “Toe- koo- bet- soo- hawn- joe- zo” Special (tokubetsu) class sake must be approved by the govt. as special in a different way, ex. special rice.
