anyhow here is the low down on this, currently working on a sake project and I've been learning a lot about sake so more details to that to come. but for the most part I'll cover what happened last night. i like sake, its one of the only things that i can drink provided that there is enough food involved. its very clean and refreshing, and i like to taste those types of drinks.
there were three types of sake that were offered to taste all different in body type.
1) Kikusui which is a Junmai Ginjo. (light body)
2) Mizbasho which was a Ginjo. (medium body)
3) Nanbubijin which was a Tokubetsu Junmai (full body)
and my personal favorite was the last one (Nanbubijin) which was a full body sake, at first i did not like the Mizbasho at first but in the end it was a very good sake to go with food.
with the three sake came small samples of the rolls, sushi and the grilled ribs. Yuji had me smell and taste all three sakes prior to the food coming. so based on that first impression i liked the full body and more earthy flavored sake. and did not like the way the Mizbasho cut in with bitterness at the end, but i changed my mind shortly after the food came.
so first sake up with food was the Kikusui, i sipped a little then had the salmon sushi. after sipping some more the salmon flavors came out more and had a nice smokey savory flavor that came out even more. i really enjoyed that. and then yuji suggested that i tried the ribs and see how that went with a light body sake. and boy o boy was it different. the ribs did not go well with the ribs as the sake was able to cut the rich flavors of the beef. so light with light.
second up was the Mizbasho, which was not my favorite at first as it had a sharp finish on my tongue. but with the albacore sushi, it was really really nice. the sweetness of the fish came out and really help the finish on the tongue after food was with it. next food with the sake was the Triple A roll (avocado/asparagus/albacore) wow! the avocado and rich buttery flavors came out with a sip of the sake, i ended up trying the Yellow Tail sushi with this sake as well and it help bring out the buttery notes of the yellow tail. i was thoroughly impressed with how much the sake complimented the food and was surprised that i liked it after giving it a chance with food.
lastly the sake i liked without food, i had this with the ribs and it was a perfect match. yuji was right, i like meat and this sake was perfect with the beef. it help bring out the grilled beef flavors of the meat and the sake was full enough to stand up to such a strong flavor, uber savory and smokey yet a smooth sweet finish.
overall the experience was very good. i also got to try to nigori sake which is unfiltered sake, much sweeter and cloudy. i could only imagine some cool recipes with that to come...
i had a great time with my friend at kabuki and i hope that everyone goes out and tries more sake. and remember its all about if you like it going down your mouth or not. have fun and drink it cold unless directed otherwise... its good for you, promise! i'll have some medical backing soon... till then
eat extraordinary everyday!
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