Daisui Junmai Sake Review
It has been nearly a year since I first moved to Japan. I was located to a small, rural area in Saitama. Despite it not quite being the bustling, metropolis of Tokyo, I am grateful every day. My town is small but sweet. Most importantly, I have access to the local products of smaller, authentic sake breweries in Saitama and Gunma.
Each region has its own distinct flavour and style of sake. Gunma has many Jizake, or “local sake” breweries. Famous for its many hot springs, Gunma is well known for its high quality water, fresh from the mountains. As we know, pure, fresh mineral water makes delicious sake!
Today, I’m going to review a little Gunma sake, Dasui Junmai from the Makino Brewery (牧野酒造株式会社).
A little about the Makino Brewery
This quaint but proud brewery is located in Takasaki, in the Gunma prefecture. It has a long and noble heritage of over 320 years of sake brewing history.
Makino draws its water source from the crisp, cool rivers flowing form the Haruna mountains. The Haruna mountains are famous not only for its mineral-rich, clear water, but also the location for the manga Initial D. Fans of the manga, anime or movies will remember Takumi Fujiwara expertly drifting the Haruna mountain to deliver tofu in immaculate condition.
The Makino brewery has won many awards for its sake in national competitions across Japan. Sadly, it is hard to find the products from this local gem outside of Japan. However, they have recently started trading internationally, including Australia, China and Canada. Please contact your friendly, local sake supplier for more details.
Daisui Junmai Sake
As expert readers will know, this is a Junmai sake, so it has no additives or additional alcohol. This gives this sake a slightly acidic taste and retains its authentic, rich flavour.
The rice is polished to 60%, just a whisper away from ginjo (吟醸) status. Although this is not the most refined sake option, it has a very smooth taste. Perfect for dinner and almost too easy to drink!
Daisui Junmai Tasting Notes
• Sake degree: +2 (slightly dry)
• Appearance: Light yellow tones
• Rice polishing: 60%
• Aroma: Light and delicate melon fragrance. The acidity outlines a slight lemongrass with earthy notes to finish.
• Palate: Medium finish. A little air will open up mellow flavours of fresh cream, ripe pear and almond.
I hope you have enjoyed learning a bit more about on of Gunma’s Jisake brands. To find out more, please browse my other Japanese sake reviews. Want to some photos? Follow me on Instagram at hellokanpaidrinks.
