Type
Kawatsuru Shuzo · Kagawa
Kawatsuru Junmai "Crane of Paradise"
$39.00
No sales tax — Oregon
Rice
Yamadanishiki (local)
Prefecture
Kagawa
Flavor profileEach scale is our tasting-room read on where this bottle sits between two extremes — dry to sweet, light to full-bodied, soft to acidic, and subtle to aromatic. These are subjective, however, and will shift with food, serveware & temp.
DrySweetBalanced dry: reads as dry, with a little bit of softness, or maybe a fruit/brown sugar note that tempers the impression of dryness. Most people will read "2" as dry.
LightFullLight: lean and easy, mellow, has enough flavor and umami to give it character but generally really easy to drink. This is the most common weight for junmai ginjo/ginjo sake.
SoftAcidicVery soft: gentle and mellow, almost no perceptible acidity. A "1" sake isn't flat or boring, but is balanced around overall subtlety and softness, using other characteristics to give it structure.
SubtleAromaticSubtle aroma: if you stick your nose in, you'll get a few quiet notes of fruit, grains, nuts & rice. Aroma isn't a big part of this sake's character. An aromatically quiet sake can still have a powerful flavor, though.
Pairs with
Monica Samuels of Kome Collective feels this is a Mezcal and Sauvignon Blanc lovers' sake, because it has a bit of the sweet agave smokiness and slippery texture of mezcal. For a tried and true slam dunk, Sweet Italian sausage is an excellent pairing.
Notes of grapefruit, mineral, a touch of something tropical and an agave-like sweet, silky smokiness.
Kawatsuru is named for the cranes that live in the local river and is considered to be an umakuchi style sake: on the dry and crisp side, but with strong umami on the mid palate. Considered to be a difficult style to make. They use Yeast #9 for this, one of the earliest ginjo yeasts, for its relatively understated but still pretty aromatics and slightly higher acid production.
Kawatsuru grows their own Yamadanishiki in Kagawa which is used for this sake. Pretty unusual to go to this length for a vertically integrated, seed to bottle sake.
Interestingly, as the prefecture with anywhere between the least and 3rd to least rainfall annually, they undergo periodic drought. When that happens, local sake brewers like Kawatsuru are the shared community resource as they have the best wells and water access. So Kawatsuru has a community responsibility to share water in periods of drought, something they dont take lightly.
Your case:
$30 flat-rate case shipping (up to 12 bottles) — the more you add, the less per bottle. Per federal requirements, an adult (21+) with photo ID must be present to receive the delivery.
Sake Club members: $20 shipping (up to 12 bottles) with your club bottles About the clubs
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Specifications
Region: Shikoku
Type: Junmai
Rice: Yamadanishiki (local)
Rice-Polishing Ratio: 65%
ABV: 15.5%
SMV: +3
Yeast: #901
Size: 720ml
Shipping
Available nationwide to states and counties that permit alcohol. No sales tax (Oregon). Flat-rate case shipping; in-store pickup available.
Pick up in person
Shop open Tu–Sun. Order online and pick up at the shop — 107 SE Washington St. #121, Portland, Oregon.
