Mukai Shuzo Junmai Muroka Nama Genshu Nigori "Kyo no Haru" (6/2025 bottling)

An especially thought-provoking nigori from the North coast of Kyoto prefecture. A little salty, a little mushroomy, leaning dry, with a spritzy vivacity on the finish. Notes of cider apples, coconut cream and pineapple keep it light-hearted. The flavor of the rice comes through in a way I ironically, rarely encounter in sake and I feel like I'm really getting a pure sense of the rice itself...but at the same time, this nigori drinks unironically like a delaware or sauvignon blanc made by a reputable Japanese natural wine producer. In other words: it's the best nigori I've had in a LONG, long time-- do not sleep on this while it's fresh.

Some charming additional details from Australian sake importer, Black Market Sake:

This Nigori (cloudy) Sake is made using the technique of once fermentation is finished the Sake is pressed clear and then the sediment is added back into the brew. Kuniko wanted the balance of flavour and texture to be perfect and she spent hours and hours testing and tasting and balancing this. So much so that she ended up pretty drunk from all the small tastes and needed to have a break before continuing. She apparently worked until 4am in the morning perfecting the balance.

The exporter added, "Kuniko is someone who will drink a man twice her size under the table."

It's no surprise this one of a kind nigori came from the brilliant mind that brought us Ine Mankai, our favorite red rice sake.