Yuki Otoko Honjozo "Yeti"
Yuki Otoko Honjozo "Yeti"
Yuki Otoko Honjozo "Yeti"
Yuki Otoko Honjozo "Yeti"

Yuki Otoko Honjozo "Yeti"

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Aoki Shuzo, makers of Kakurei, designed "Yuki Otoko" to be their super-dry brand of sake. For a while, it was so popular in Japan that the annual production sold out too quickly to export! They’ve since scaled up, so it comes to the US in limited amounts.

This is the lighter cousin of the junmai-- both in terms of $$ ($5 cheaper! Not bad), and style. If Junmai is the one submerging each giant yeti-foot into the snow, Honjozo is the one dancing on the snow so lightly that it doesn't fall through. 

The palate is super fresh and clean, with a crisp edge like sparkling mineral water. 
Unlike some honjozo that unwrap into layers on the palate, here we stay clean and forward: delicate notes of white rice, poached pear, chestnut, but it really feels like the aruten aspect brings the crystal-clear water into focus. Lovely balance.
In an interview, I once read something to the effect of: subtlety in sake is more difficult to achieve than loud expression. Turning the volume down while maintaining beauty and balance is the hard part.

Niigata (Uonuma)
Gohyakumangoku, Koshiibuki (local) 65%
On-site well water from an underground mountain current. Very soft
Starter: sokujo
ABV: 15.5%
SMV: +8
Acidity: 1.2

Produced by Aoki Shuzo (1717) in Niigata. Yuki Otoko, bigfoot/yeti of Japan, is illustrated as a large hairy humanlike creature by Suzuki Bokushi in his masterpiece, Hokuetsu Seppu, the early 19th-century topographic essay on the life of the snowy southern Niigata region, where the brewery has been making sake for 300 years since 1717. Bokushi’s son became the seventh generation of the brewery. Legend has it that the Yuki Otoko has helped travelers carry their loads and guided them through mountain trails. The brewery donates part of their proceeds to support local rescue activities for hikers.