Ehime Prefecture’s Natsugin Ishizuchi

Tonight's summer type sake is made by blending two rice grains; Yamadanishiki at 50% and Matsuyama Mitsui at 60%( a type of sake rice currently grown exclusively in Ehime Prefecture). The water used for this sake comes from the Ishizuchi mountains, the tallest mountains in the Shikoku region. This is a special funashibori type sake as well, which means it is sake that’s pressed slowly using old-style mashing equipment(labor intensive).

The nihonshu is plus 5 making it dry. Acid 1.6. Alc 15%. Served very cold. This is also a very light sensitive sake which means it should be stored in a cool dark place.

Nose: Large bouquet of summer flowers. No pear nose for me this time.

First taste: Ooh, god! What kind of taste is this? Fruity, sharp, and very dry! god in a glass. The aroma from the air I'm getting in my mouth cavity is milk chocolate. Taste is smooth and with a very clean finish. The whole inside of the mouth feels clean after drinking it. What a wonderfully made sake. This is high grade.

Now to the pouring. After watching the video please come back and finish reading this post:

Tonight's dinner was a very special miso produced by Biwako Shokuhin; from Shiga Prefecture.

Special point: Garlic, spices, without any additional seasoning you can make from nabe to miso dishes.
Make: one cup of water, large spoon full of miso, bowl of vegetable and meat, standard dish.
Standard is just miso paste made from bean, rice , or koji. This miso is already seasoned.
Fax orders are accepted. Price: 2700grams/ CoD
0749-8512510

In addition, I added three large ginger buds(myouga in Japanese), which are native to Japan and is a perennial herb. This was actually given to me today by one of my favorite Jukujo students. Another ingredient added was Chinese cabbage, or hakusai in Japanese which is very popular in many parts of Asia, as evident in various cuisines all over this region. Meat used was salmon and pork; lots of it! Within minutes everything was done!

Then my own homemade miso soup. The only difference is that I add a lot of pork and fish whereas in Japan “ less is more.” They add less of everything I added, which is from an aesthetic point of view more with less. Typically, the miso you buy at the market may require additional seasonings, this one didn’t.

When I imagine the taste of this prefecture coupled with this nihonshu from Ehime prefecture of Ishizuchi I get this Jukujo image:

Optimistic, radiant, intuitive, refined, elegant, sharp. The strong bouquet nose is exactly her and the sharpness represents her keen sense of intuition and attention to detail. Earrings of modest appearance, hair perfectly in place. Make-up well done.

The Soul of Japan