If you want to drop some $$$$$ for a special occasion, Hiro at Sakae in Burlingame will introduce you to some fine Sake/Shochu (http://www.sakaesushi.com/)

 

sake is awesome in the winter time as well. Serve it warm and it warms you up well in return.

sochuu is really good and what my parents used to make plum wine (umeshuu) which is also good. My caucasian friend used to fill a small glass 1/2 way with sochuu 1/2 water and squeezed a lemon wedge and enjoyed that after kendo practice.

Also, i used to always accompany my parents to the Takara sake factory since they'd buy a big ol box full of sake. The box contained a collapseable plastic bladder with a spigot that held the sake. They even took us all on a tour of the facility one time which went to their facilities and even gave us a taste of the unrefined sake (which also tasted pretty good).

 

Kariho Namahage (devil's mask) is my favorite dry sake. It's hard to find though.

+1 for koji's. You can get the flights to get a wide range of flavors.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/koji-sake-lo...n-jose?q=shane

 

This stuff will put your dick in the dirt

 

since we're talking about sake here. can you guys school me on what dryness means and how do you know if a particular sake is meant to be drank hot or cold?

 

I personally prefer sake to be in the -20 or there about, cold, and unfiltered.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sake

 

I've got a bottle of that from Okinawa. Apparently my uncle makes it as well and catches his own snakes for it.

The one i have is a commercial one......and it tastes like ****......

 

still have a bottle in my fridge....have yet to taste it. I keep drinking beer and never get around to trying it because of the old addage...beer before liquour never been sicker lol

 

Hot sake is the cheap stuff. It masks the flavor. I still love it when it's cold out.

Premium sake has a large range of flavors. It goes from soft & fruity to dry & crisp. I've never been much for all the bull**** terms used to describe wine & sake. You should just try many different good sakes.

 

Oh Gawd, awamori...
Mix that with a bunch of Marines and you have one hell of a party

 

Ok, I've been lurking i-club for a while and finally had to join hen I saw this thread.

If you like it sweet, Ozeki Nigori is very tasty and very cheap. It is the thickest nigori I've had (so far) and one of my favorites. I generally avoid Gekkeikan, Ozeki, Sho Chi Ku Bai, and the other big & cheap brands, but I had to make an exception for this one.

Rihaku "Wandering Poet" is a good full-flavored sake.

Otokoyama Tokubetsu Junmai is a great dry one.

Some other good ones (mostly sweet-ish rather than dry):

Sawanoi Junmai Ginjo
Tenryo Hidahomare Junmai Ginjo
Nanbu Bijin (Southern Beauty) Junmai Ginjo


I finally tried Shochu recently and wasn't that excited. But then I'm not a big vodka fan, either.

Anyway, I've been trying to start up a sake-based discussion forum, which so far has been more of a blog than anything else. I've got some (poorly written) write-ups for various sakes if anyone is interested: www.sakeforums.com

 

Nigori was the first cold sake I ever tried. Tasty.

The worst hangover I've ever had was when I tried Shochu. I have no idea if it was the good stuff though.

Good luck with that forum. Premium sake isn't too well known, even in the bay area. I found some Demon Slayer at the nicest little chinese place in ****zville Louisiana once. That totally took me by surprise.

 

I assume you're referring to Wakatake Onikoroshi? I tried that once, but wasn't overly impressed. Then I had again it at a restaurant months later, and the food pairing really brought it to life. That's the next thing I need to learn - how to match food to sake. It makes a huge difference. I usually bring the Nigori if I'm going to a party, as that goes best with really rich food. I tried bringing some good dry-ish and even semi-sweet stuff a few times, but they always got overwhelmed by the chips & dips & cookies.

 

Finding wakatake onikoroshi there was like an oasis in the middle of a redneck, nothing but budweiser sold here and you better like it, desert.

 

Has anyone ever tried some JDM Whiskey before? This one looks interesting...