What a fantastic Sake! You were right. It’s stunningly floral and aromatic to taste (not in initial smell), but has the delicious “softness” and roundness. And it finishes clean and pretty dry.
We enjoyed it at home (taking a cue from @Sgee LOL), but I definitely see this working great at Raku for my next visit. Thanks for the recommendation again.
Glad you liked it! The alcohol content is higher as it is also undiluted/genshu and it’s very easy to drink (and over drink). It blossoms with the right food (any izakaya/robatayaki fare would work). It should be a good one to try at and bring to Kinjiro as well.
Recently encountered a new nama sake that is trying to break into the US market, Kakeya Junmai Muroka Nama Genshu, from Shimane prefecture. They are currently selling in select San Francisco and New York markets (retail and restaurants), but hopefully will also show up in Southern California in the near future. If you like the Born, this one totally rocks and is also built for izakaya, yakitori (and sushi to some extent). Both Kakeya and this Born are quite umami rich, though Kakeya probably is more rice centric (it’s a Junmai) and a touch chewier in a good way. Don’t miss the chance to try it if it shows up in restaurants down where you guys are (or directly ask your favorite restaurants to carry it). This would be another excellent one at Raku.
Nice! A recommended Sake from Shimane, Japan. I don’t recall trying any from that region that I liked previously. I’ll definitely keep an eye out for the Kakeya. Thanks.
Re: Born Muroka - Wow, so because it’s a Genshu it has higher alcohol content? No wonder…
I just looked at “name that blogger’s” screenshot of the Raku sake menu and here is one they carry that would be super interesting to try
It’s a Junmai Ginjo, no charcoal filter, a nama, and a genshu. On top of that it has a Sake Meter Value of 17 to 18 and is quite possibly the dryest known sake out there available. Some of the Okarakuchi / Super Dry sakes are at about a 10, so 17 - 18 is pretty killer. The distributor for this sake is based out of New Mexico (Floating World). I have a bottle at home, but haven’t tried it yet. A heads up though, I believe this bottle only comes in 500 mL size. Retail roughly low $40s, $75 by the bottle at Raku. Not bad at all.
Other than that, Fukucho Suigetsu, Kuroshi Omachi, Dewazakura Oka, Wataribune 55, and Fukuju from the Junmai Ginjo/Ginjo section of the menu, are all worth exploring at Raku. If you pick one from the Junmai list, Urakasumi is an excellent one.
Wow, thanks for the rec for that Akishika Junmai Muroka that’s Nama Genshu! I’ll definitely have to try this next time at Raku. Very curious how possibly the dryest Sake tastes.
When booking reservations, there is a “Chef Counter” option. Are you required to actually do any sort of omakase/fixed price meal at the chef’s counter, is it sushi only, or…is it really just booking the counter in front of the chef?
I think the chef’s are good about inspecting the uni from the shell (knock on wood). It was truly fantastic.
They have Beer, no worries. But their Sake menu is pretty stellar.
If not the Uni Udon, then the Kobe Beef Tendon Skewers, Foie Gras Chawanmushi and most of the Yakitori skewers. And at least one of the Sashimi Specials (Kanpachi, Shima Aji were there the last time we went). SO GOOD!
It is a crime how dead that place was at lunch - I was one of 3 people. There were a total of 6 people working (granted all of them were also doing dinner prep…)
