“I will start this review with a small caveat that my tasting experience may not be truly reflective of this offering. I recently received this bottle as part of my sake club order and noticed it was marked “05.08.” When asked, the knowledgeable staff at Tippsy quickly informed me this would be August 2020. They also indicated it would be perfectly fine to enjoy despite being close to four years old. I wanted to note this detail in my review as I am unsure if its age would impact its overall taste, but honestly, my palate is probably not that refined to tell the difference even if there was one.
I tried this chilled and on its own. I was actually expecting it to be darker in color considering its age, but it still had only a hint of that light golden straw color. In comparison, I have tried newer sake that was not much different in appearance. I found the nose to not be overly expressive - it smelled like sake. The taste was mildly sweet, but I could see a comparison to wild honey as it had a thicker mouthfeel that was a mixture of sweet and earthy/herbal. Though, I was a bit surprised by how much clove flavor was in the aftertaste. Overall, I found this sake to be pleasant to drink but was not excited by it enough to give it five stars.”
“This sake is light and clean, with a subtle sweetness. I enjoyed a glass warmed with salmon teriyaki on one night, and with beef pot roast on another night. This sake is built to be paired with different foods and complements them well. I found notes of bananas, cloves, and honey.”
“I'm brand new to alcohol altogether but had an interest in nihonshu , so I wanted to start slow and start right! (only 1 ochoko every few days) My first nihonshu was a light 7% Hana Awaka (sparkling) by Ozeki and I liked it. I decided to try something more traditional to see what I was really getting myself into so I went to my local state premium collection wine & spirits store where I found this jewel! Didn't know what to think initially but quickly came to love it's unique flavor (light and sweet in the mouth then a little dry and a smidge of a bitter note as it goes down)! Looking forward to learning more about nihonshu and tasting more!”
Hi Tiff, Thank you so much for your review!
Yes. We have a lot of different type of NIHONSHU, so if you want to try some diffrent taste, let us know. We can help you!
Thank you so much!
“This is really great sake, with a silky finish. When served chilled you can get the hint of mandarin. For me it really shines when warmed up and the honey and clove come out. I will come back to this again and again.”
