Kurosawa (Black River) Junmai Kimoto Sake

Served Warm at Noodles at Bellagio. Sharp sweet nose yellowish pour taste sweet tasty I admittedly no nothing about sake ratings, but i thought this was pretty good.

Clear and still, with a light, dusty tint and a watery consistency. It almost looks like dirty tap water. I don’t often deviate from a "3" for sake appearance, but this one is on the ugly side of normal. The aroma is sweet, almost like a dessert beverage, showing notes of cream, mild koji, green melon, and honeydew. Flavors follow suit, showing sweet cream, alcohol soaked melon, and rice pudding. The palate is watery, with a searing, alcoholic burn. There’s not a whole lot of positives to speak of here. I’m not impressed.

Clear. Straightforward woody, koji aroma with a hint of pear. The body is smooth, light, with a splash of acidity. Fairly light, vibrant, toasty, some juicy-citrusy notes. Not sure I like how it dies in the finish, though.

Pour is clear with light yellow...faint sweet floral aroma with some alcohol...sweet flral flavor with lots of sweet alcohol...

Thanks to David for bringing the bottle! Poured clear, almost water-like with a faint yellow tint to it.. short, but well-formed legs on the glass. The aroma was very upfront with rougher rice notes and some medium-skinned fruits.. a bit crass, but not bad. The flavor had harsher alcohol-fueled peach notes with somehow sweetened rice.. left a long, brash finish. Slick on the palate, finishing with an ugly feel on the finish. Thanks David!

1.8 L bottle - boy that’s a big one. Aroma is of nail polish remover, apples and peach. A nice punch of flavor, pretty sweet at first, but balanced by a dry peppery finish. No off tastes, just simple and delicious, nothing special but a crowd pleaser. Anything but refined, this sake is quite good warm. Although sweeter at higher temperatures, many more flavors become evident and the finish comes out well. Overall, I recommend given the low pricepoint and originality.

10/6/07 at Sushi.com in Spokane, Wa. Aroma is a slightly meaty scent with a sour rice wash note, similar to the rinse that comes off of rice grains you are cleaning. Appearance has a very faint light green tinge, noticed this on the white glasses. Flavor is slightly resiny, with a creamy flavor. I didn’t consider it very sweet, but my wife liked the sweetness, a lot, so that might appeal to some.

300mL Bottle: An off beige clear color with thick legs. The nose is ripe with rice and koji, light alcohol and a dusty peach and granite. The flavor is sharp, lots of dry acidity and bitterness, but the alcohol is still in check. This is fairly good if you consider how it’s made and how this "style" of sake tastes. A good piece of history in each bottle, the taste tells you why they don’t really do this type of sake anymore though. Funny that it would ever be used as a house sake with such intensive labor required for this brewing method. The tail is chalky and long. Fairly bad, but light alcohol, if that’s something worth noting.