Ginja Shizuku Divine Droplets-Junmai Daiginjo
This sake is drip-pressed (shizuku), a rarity by itself, and it is the
only sake in the world drip-pressed in an ice igloo which is rebuilt
every year outside the main brewery building in Hokkaido, Japan's
northernmost island.
94 Points, Stephen Tanzers International Wine Cellar, 2007
"Very pale yellow. Complex nose offers saline, herbal and spicy notes, with a minty coolness. Wonderfully subtle, complex and precise, with a distinctly ethereal quality, high-pitched minerality and superb lift. Finishes very dry and persistent, with lovely lift. This is made inside an igloo in Hokkaido, in Japan's extreme north, where below-freezing temperature prevents unwanted bacteria from surviving, thus ensuring a very pure sake. The clear sake is separated from the fermenting rice lees by putting it into canvas bags and allowing the sake to drip out overnight (as opposed to pressing it)."
Sake Details
| Quality Grade | Junmai Daiginjo |
|---|---|
| Seimaibui | 50% (50% of rice grain polished away) |
| Rice | Yamada Nishiki |
| Alcohol | 15.6% |
| Special Features | |
| Brewery Name | Takasago Shuzo |
| Prefecture | Hokkaido |
| Toji (Master Brewer) | Tokujiro Sasaki |
Tasting Notes
Spice, minerality, and banana skin dominate the aroma profile of this shizuku- pressed sake. Medium-bodied with a clean impact, the flavors run the gamut of a well-crafted Junmai-Daiginjo- melons, herbs, vanilla essence and concentrated mineral flavors that keep the sake focused well into its long, ethereal finish. Truly one of the 'Rolls-Royces' of sake.
