Jokigen

Jokigen ( Sweet Dreams)

Yamahai ( Shikomi ) natural lactic bacteria  with less pole mixing.

What that means in terms of taste:  Audacious and bolder flavors.  Spunky.  

Seimaibuai = 55%

Nihonshu-do = +3.0

Amino Sando = 1.6

Medium Dry:  Works well with beef steak, curry, and even turkey.  

http://www.jokigen.co.jp

You can't go wrong with a good Chilean white with turkey, but what about nihon-shu?    With the fusion and importation of food in Japan, and with younger Japanese chefs experimenting with American tastes, so too must Japanese food change and become more eclectic.   Whatever it is you drink needs to stand up to whatever it is you are eating, and while at the same time maintaining the quality of the beverage.   Sake may be able to work with non-traditional food if paired properly.  

One thing that hasn't changed about me is that I love Thanksgiving and no matter how much I love Japanese meat, the turkey is always, if cooked right, the best.     So me and a date headed out to Shibuya to a place called Good Honest Grub ocated in a suburb of Shibuya - a part that's way off in a dark alley off Meiji Dori street.  The place is charming, you simply must visit there.   The tenderness in the turkey meat was excellent and the stuffing was just like from mom's dinner table.    

Turkey, gravy, stuffing, steamed radishes and broccoli  mashed potatoes

Baked curry and chicken gratin, mushrooms

 

This dish is not offered at Good Honest Grub, just another dish that could work well with with Jokigen depending on your particular tastes and preferences.    The Olive House offers this dish for a limited time only.   

I have always been a skeptic about taking sake out of its boundaries.    I still believe that the flavor profiles in many sake yields are just not compatible with the oiliness and heavily flavored foods you find overseas.   Sure, there are bolder sake with more acidity that can stand up to beef, but why push those boundaries?   Wine is king in this regard, and I don't think that can be argued.     I love wine, too.    

As we enter into winter over here in Japan, sake tends to undergo a natural change in its characteristics, especially in the colder regions of Japan where temps. can dip well below zero, which in turn will yield sake with softer and more floral scents.