Momokawa Diamond Junmai Ginjo Sake

Brewed by SakeOne Corporation
Style: Ginjo
Forest Grove, Oregon USA

Chilled. Aromas of perfume, solvent and cooked rice. Color is clear with an amber tint. Flavor is mostly sweet with a touch of acidity. Palate is silky and finishes dry and alcoholic.

This bottled sake from a bottle shop poured no head uncarbonated and a clear body. The aroma was mild vinous and polished rice. The mouth feel was weakly tingly at the start and strongly tingly at the finish with a strong alcohol burn. The strong flavor contained notes of vinous and polished rice. A typically strong vinous alcohol based sake.

Pours almost clear - slight yellow tinge. Aroma is mead-like - alcohol, sugar, honey. Tastes like a lousy white wine. Alcohol is definately present. Not for me. Total drain pour.

Clear ultra pale pear juice. Aroma is moderately sweet, plum, alcohol, flowery. Taste is moderately sweet, alcohol, plum, some flower, light honey. Still, medium-full body, some stickiness.

Pours clear with the slightest tint of yellow. Husky rice aroma with coconut nuttiness and a bit of vanilla and alcohol. Sweet flavor initially, some fruity peach that quickly turns to creamy rice and a bit of wood. Seems sweeter the longer you mull it around in your mouth. Alcohol is fairly well hidden in the flavor until the end of the finish.

The Diamond Junmai Ginjo from Momokawa starts with a semi-strong and flavorful fragrance. A slight astringency with a moderate piercing strength brings out the scent of vinegared sushi rice - itself like an attractive funk I’ve frequently heard described as umami. I found it odd that you had to breathe in through your nose very, very slowly to catch the aroma, but when you did it was pronounced. The flavor is remarkable for its coating texture with a low and sweeping astringency. Quiet at first and then a somewhat flat, spiritless taste. The aftertaste too is long and boozy. There might be a slight, dry sweetness in the beginning with an exhausted “pop” of musk melon flavor, but it’s hard to find and not worth the effort. The very first moment of the sip is also the only time when the sake approaches a fresh and ricey flavor, but this quickly buckles back down to a flat, strange, semi-bitter taste. I hope this isn’t representative of the ginjo style.

Pours clear. Smells clean, tropical, sugary and sweet. The alcohol from the rice is very present and there is some sugar too. It burns a little and is quite warming.

Clear pour with a yellow tinge. Mild fruit and alcohol aromas. Slightly sweet rice rice flavor with a very subtle fruit presence. Not bad.