More than a month has passed since we embarked on our search for smooth sakes available for sale in Singapore. Our orders from various online stores arrived progressively, and we’ve been keeping ourselves pleasantly intoxicated over the past few weekends.
Continue readingTag: Alcohol
What goes well with yuzu sake? Why, yuzu pan of course
The Wife pointed to a dozen or so bottles that had the words ゆず written prominently on the label, with the brewer’s name 梅乃宿 in smaller font in the top right corner.
Apparently this was the seasonal 2021 Aragoshi Nama Yuzushu produced by Umenoyado, an unpasteurised and roughly-crushed version of her favourite yuzu sake.
The Look appeared in her eyes as she lovingly picked up a bottle.
No prizes for guessing what happened next.
Continue reading
Starting the search for smooth sakes in Singapore
Our preference seems to skewed towards smooth-tasting sakes with prominent fruity notes. But smooth isn’t quite an industry term, and sake brewers use the Sake Meter Value system plus an acidity value to differentiate their product.
If I had to map what we like onto this framework, my best guess is that it would be in the “Sweet-Rich” region, with an SMV of -5 to -10 and Acidity of 1.5 to 1.7. But, as always, we’ll only know if we like any particular bottle after we actually taste it.
Continue reading
Oh dear, I think we got The Old Folks hooked on Choya Yuzu
They called us the next day to say that it was very good and that they really liked it. Which was basically code for: “Please bring more next time.”
Continue reading
Visiting the Kavalan distillery in Yilan
Yilan (宜蘭) is most famous for its hotsprings, innovative cuisine and 三星 spring onion, but it also happens to be the home of the Kavalan whisky distillery.
Continue reading
Visiting the Nikka Yoichi distillery in Hokkaido
The highlight of the visit was finding out that there was a small bar in the museum, where we could sample the Yoichi 15y and 20y. Yes, actually get to taste them.
It wasn’t cheap, but the fact that they were even available to drink was amazing. We sent a photo to some friends who are big whisky fans and they were suitably impressed, and I assume, also very envious.
Continue reading
Godfather, Part 1
“Have you ever tried a Godfather?” asked Shimura-san.
No, I had not, and with a name like that, there was no way I was not having one.
Continue reading
Grapes are nice, but don’t forget the other fruits
Sticking with tradition, we opened another bottle of bubbly on the first day of 2021 and promptly started day-drinking. This year, it was the intriguing Migaki-Ichigo Mousseux NV made from 100% strawberries grown in the Miyagi prefecture of Japan.
Continue reading
Be careful, yuzu sake is very addictive
The taste was unmistakably yuzu, citrusy with a pleasant bitter afternote, swimming in a sea of smooth sake.
Continue reading
Work travel is a necessary evil, but at least you get to eat well
I used to travel quite a fair bit for work and during a four-year period from 2015 to 2019, I had made 26 round-trip flights to Tokyo for an average of one trip every two months. Here are some of the memorable meals that I’ve had during the four years when I was commuting to Tokyo.
Continue readingPopular Posts
