Wakatake Onikoroshi (Demon Slayer) Junmai Daiginjo Sake

Appearance: Subtle yellow tint. Clean and translucent. Aroma: soft and approachable. Wild flowers, watermelon yeasts, homemade bread yeast. Taste: Big on melon flavors, lychee, apple skin, touches of bready yeast flavors. Hints of pear. Dusted in minerals and earth. Palate: Only a light hint of booze. Full bodied. Moderate acidity balances pleasantly with fruity sweetness. A fun and well named Sake that pares well with most any dish.

(Bottle) Pours a lightly tinted clear yellow body. Aroma of vanilla, sweet marshmallow, banana, and almonds. Flavor of almond, milk, and alcohol.

I have only tried a few sakes before and this is my first Daiginjo, so bare with me. The hard part is judging appearance: it looks like water, maybe a slight film over it, not cloudy or anything but maybe slightly thicker water (?). There are some legs to it, seems to stick rather nicely to the glass but I have little to compare this to and it’s not colored like wine, making it even harder to tell. I am sticking with a neutral appearance rating. Aroma is strong, there is present alcohol but its not a negative. The alcohol is not stinging the nose. Other smells of oriental-thick-perfume, very floral and complex. So many different things going on, here are a few adjectives: lychee, berry, dark fruit-tea, and apple skins. Now it’s not alco-pop fruity, its very deep and earthy and the alcohol real makes it substantial. It also sits on the tongue very nicely, has a slippery stickiness. Its very unique from a beer point of view. Taste again starts with a present alcohol and again its not ’hot", no burn, no negative side effects of alcohol but a definite alcohol presence. Taste is green grain-esque with white grape. There is some fruit that is just starting to ripen (apple and pear), extremely interesting.
Larger than a shot pour, $16 (I did not go for most expensive but the cheapest Daiginjo, the other was $19 a glass) @ ONO restaurant.

720mL from HiTime Wine. Pours a thick clear color with an egg shell white like beige tinge. The nose is very fruity and floral with a nice biscuit, banana and vanilla note. Some gentle melon and light koji too. Very little alcohol, which is surprising considering this is nearly genshu range. Warming going down with an obvious alcohol note in the finish. You can really feel the stuff evaporating off your tongue the octane is a bit high, but it’s still really smooth and clean. Nice mellow finish and a light mineral and grain mouthfeel that accentuates the fruity topping. It’s almost like a cake.

Slightly fruity aroma, some hint of nondescript melon. Very gentle, sweet flavors--a general acidic fruitiness, and a definite alcohol presence. Overall very smooth and easy to drink. Nice clean, dry finish.