Akita’s Nama Chozoushu

 

The full name is called tokubetsu honjouzo nama chozoushu.  That’s a mouth full, I know.  The first time I got turned on to nihonshu was because of this designation of sake -honjozo-shu.  A good reference point for chozoushu would be here.

 

All of the characteristics about sake I came to love was born from the sake I am drinking tonight; clean, dry, and complex.  Nakakuchi, or medium dry as it’s called in Japanese, is served cold just like Akita’s winters and with friends or alone is fine too.  You can gain a better appreciation if you look out over the vast expanse of Akita’s snow country or sit next to a bubbling brook or natural stream of fresh water.

 

The sake meter value is plus 2, acidity is 1.2, the alc. is 13.5.  Good flavor points is its smell and “nodogoshi” or throat feel/after-taste.  All-and-all I really enjoyed this sake a lot and hope that many people will have a chance to try it.  By the way, this sake came highly recommend at a sushi bar in Masakiguchi, which is home to Yokosuka’s legendary Misaki Tuna.  I enjoyed several plates of fatty Misaki Tuna with this gorgeous sake.

 

Lastly, I did purchase another bottle and enjoyed it as a night cap with a very old and well known confectionary called kuri ( chestnut confectionary) that is made by a very very old mom & pop shop in old town Yokohama called Omoya.

When I went there on New Year’s  Day the line almost wrapped around the shop just for these delicious little bite sized morsels of sugar and chestnut.  Every time I walk past this shop they are always sold out of everything.