Misaki Junmai Daiginjo

When I started the Malternatives section, I was not expecting to be reviewing a sake. I had some Mezcals on the shelf, maybe an armagnac or cognac. But Sake. I did not think about that. But here we are.

Junmai Daiginjo

Before we start tasting, let’s explain something. Misaki is the brand, junmai daiginjo a term used to indicate a certain quality. The rice used for this drink is polished to a certain degree. The more is polished away, the more expensive the sake is. In this case, the rice was polished up to 50%.

So here I am. With a bottle of sake that I got Nicky when I least expected it. Nicky is a brand ambassador and previously connected me to Titanic whiskey.
We were meeting up and I thought we would discuss whiskey and Mezcal. Or, if you follow Nicky on instagram, rum.
But he surprised me with this bottle of Misaki.

So, I put the bottle in the fridge and was wondering what a good time would be to open this bottle.
It just so happens to be that my parents came to babysit my kids yesterday. And I thought it would be nice to treat them on sushi after babysitting.
Normally, I would open a white wine or take a dram of a japanese whisky to pair with the sushi. This time I serves sake. Next to the fact it paired perfectly, I was impressed.

The sake had a clear color, not fully transparent, but a light yellow-gray hue showed a hint of color.
The sake has an alcohol percentage of 14,5% Vol. and is made of local rice from Saitama.
And here is where the bottle infor stops and I have to continue myself.

What surprised me was the fresh and fruity notes that popped up during pouring a glass for my father.
Almost immediately a fresh, zingy fruitiness popped up, followed by some more dusty notes.
This was before I was able to pour my own glass and sniff.

I got a full nose of a kind of fruitiness that I normally get from a nice full white wine. The hints of dirty straw made us compare it to a Vin Jeune. It has some yeasty notes, but the sweeter notes dominate.
On the palate I get a thin oily feeling but a full set of flavors I kept trying to understand during dinner.
Tropical fruit notes mixed with potato skin. Sweet honey mixed with aloe. Rice pudding mixed with strawberries.
Almost no finish unfortunately, but that could be due to the sushi we were eating.

So, the bad thing about sake, is that opposed to whisky or other malternatives discussed here, you cannot keep it for long.
Good thing we liked it and finished it over dinner!
I think I might be on the lookout for more sake in the future!