Kuromatsu-Hakushika (White Deer) Yamadanishiki Junmai Sake

Brewed by Tatsuuma-Honke Brewing Co., Ltd.
Style: Honjozo
Nishinomiya, HYOGO Prefecture, Japan

Pours clear with a gold tint. Smells of rice and alcohol with some fruitiness present. Tastes sweet and boozy. Easy drinking.

Looking just like water, it has a mild fruity aroma with some alcohol and a hint of Corn Flakes. (Admitedly, the latter makes little sense even to my addled mind.) Peppery on the tongue, there’s light juicy fruits here, as well. Long dry finish. It must be good, I just cranked up the music...

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Bottle: Clear color with no legs. The nose is full bodied with a light grainy character, light alcohol and a bit of dusty koji, no sweetness or melon yummyness which I like. The flavor is rich with good umami and a nice feel on the palate. Semi-sweet with a buttery finish a light alcohol feel. Extended tail. I can see what they’re going for but it’s missing something.

Bottle from Jungle Jim’s served cold. Poured clear color with good legs. Medium rice alcohol aroma. Medium body with a dry texture. Medium complex flavor with a medium complex alcohol finish that was of moderate duration. Solid drinkable sake.

300 ml bottle from City Market in Burlington, VT (December 2007), consumed from the fridge in a White Winter Winery glass. Totally clear, slightly oily, still appearance; the clearest-looking sake I’ve had yet....faint, spidery, persistent legs....entrancing if low-key coconut-almond aroma, lightly ricey, no alcoholic harshness....sweet, thick and fairly simple flavor profile, with alcohol growing in strength fairly quickly; finish slightly medicinal/industrial in character and not all that pleasant, but the midpalate is nicely cotton-candy-like with a hind of sugared nuts....this isn’t bad for the price I guess but far from my favorite thus far.

375mL bottle at Fugakyu on 8/25/07
Watery appearance with poor legs/leg-retention. Very clear.
Extremely nutty in the nose, with almonds and sharp peach esters. Gains a rather unpleasant paste/glue-like note with not-so well-concealed alcohol. Kind of like what sake shouldnt be. Though it’s no cheap ozeki, it just isnt pleasant after you’ve had better stuff.
Same goes for the flavor, raw, unrefined and without any real delicate flavors. Too much nuttiness and alcohol, with bland rice hull. Not light or fruity or elegant in the least. Fusels are very problematic. Sluggish texture (for a sake). It’s cheap though....

Bottle. Pours with an ever so slight yellow tinge to an otherwise clear body. Very weak legs, if any. Aroma of alcohol, almond, vanilla, koji, umami, grass, and a bit of cantaloupe. Taste is heavy on the koji, medium to sweet with a decent amount of umami meatiness up front. Lingeringly sweet with honeydew melon. Alcohol is much more mellow than it is on the nose. Relatively pleasant. A bit thin on the mouthfeel, but balanced. Lingering aftertaste (longish duration).

Bottled. Tons of koji in the aroma, melon, grassiness, not too complex. A bit of grain alcohol lingers on the palate, with more koji flavors, florals and mud. Very basic sake.