TippsySake.com Saké Box #2

First off, I need to thank TippsySake.com for inspiring me take this adventure into the world of Saké. It has been a boatload of fun and the category in my alcohol education that has felt the least like work. A lot of my reading/learning time and adult beverage excitement these days is owed to you.

Tippsy is basically a wine club for Saké. You can shop around on their site and buy the Saké that you want or you can subscribe to the Saké Box, which is delivered to your door every month with three different Saké. And you, my fellow Wine Stalkers, can use promocode SAKECLUB to get $10 off your first order. So if you like your Saké then go check it out!

To learn more about the history of Saké, read my latest article called Just Brew It, Part One: A brief history of Sake. After I've done more studying on the category there will be a Part 2: Making Saké but I'm not there just yet.

I got my first Tippsy box back in April and you can read my review here, and you should because they were awesome and I really enjoyed the service. But now it's time for round two and I can't wait to get started!

Kagatobi "Junmai Ginjo"

Price: $22.50
Category: Junmai Ginjo
Region: Ishikawa, Ishikawa
Taste Profile: Light & Dry
Serving Temperature: Cold, Room
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 16%
Rice Polishing Ratio (RPR): 60%
Recommended Pairing: Meat, Fish

Fukumitsuya brewery believes in minimal intervention sake making and uses the simplest ingredients to create sake like this artisan Ginjo. Special attention results in bold and clean flavor with crisp, bright finish. The highest quality Yamada-Nishiki rice and spring water from Mt. Hakusan come together to create a piece of art by the mother nature.

Light and crisp is right! You could just go ahead and chug this whole bottle like it was a CapriSun. It's got a lot of melon on the nose and palate, but there's also strawberry and vanilla and rice. This is an enjoyable and very refreshing saké that I'm happy to see in a package deal like this for the sake of diversity. Most of the Junma Ginju's I've had finish rich with some umami while this one finishes very crisp and dry. When you're new to learning about anything, experiences in diversity should always be appreciated.

Kagatobi "Ex Dry"

Price: $28.50

Category: Junmai

Region: Ishikawa, Ishikawa 

Taste Profile: Rich & Dry

Serving Temperature: Cold, Room, Warm

Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 16%

Rice Polishing Ratio (RPR): 65%

Recommended Pairing: Meat, Fish

From Fukumitsuya Sake Brewery founded in 1625, "Kagatobi" was named after the in-house firefighters who were tough, powerful, and highly skilled. Using a traditional yamahai brewing method which uses natural lactic acid for fermentation, "Kagatobi Super Dry" takes after the taste of typical yamahai sake. Its acidity consists of complex flavors that combine with the full body for a clean finish.

Fuller bodied than the Junmai Ginjo, it's also less fruity and more vegetal and grassy. I know that might be a turn off to many consumers, but I also know as a wine guy that it would attract a lot of my colleagues and fellow wine nerds. Oh it's good and it carries a punch. It's got an intense booziness with favors and aromas of plum, celery, cabbage, lime peel, and it finishes with plenty of heat from the alcohol. This is an earthy hard hitter.

Kizakura "Kyo Bijin"

Price: ???

Category: Flavored

Region: Kyoto

Taste Profile: Rich & Sweet

Serving Temperature: Cold

Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 10.5%

Rice Polishing Ratio (RPR): N/A

Recommended Pairing: Aperitif

All the deliciousness of plums infused into a delightful sake. Made with Kyoto's very own plums, known for being a combination of sweet and tangy. Drinking this brew is even more satisfying than biting into a fresh plum picked right from the tree. Let the juicy tartness engulf your palate then dissipate with a sweet kiss. A delightful sake to share with friends or that someone special.

Yeah, forget that, I'm keeping this to myself. This is tart and sweet with flavors of plum (obviously), vanilla, and caramel. I chilled it too much at first and didn't appreciate it enough until it warmed up to become semi-chilled. But even then it's a bit boozy on the nose, tart on the palate, ultra plummy everywhere, and that's what makes it so good. Can I get a big glass with some ice so I can dump it all in there and sip it with a straw, please?

SAKÉ AND CHEESE???

Myself being a hopeless cheese addict I really wanted some cheese tonight, so I did some research into what is the best cheese with saké. Of course that's like asking "what's the best cheese with wine?" with so many variables and varieties but from what I saw it appeared to me that unsmoked gouda might be the best option for the category overall. So I got me some unsmoked gouda and it paired nicely with each one, although the gouda I bought could improve the pairing by being a bit softer.

IN CONCLUSION

All three of these are fantastic. However my personal favorite of the three bottles was the Kagatobi Junmai Ginjo, the first one in this review, because it has nice fruit with a relaxed personality but still plenty of character. The Ex Dry brings earthiness, and I'm a huuuuge fan of earthiness in everything from wine to coffee, but tasting them side by side I'd rather have some calmness and balance in my saké at this point.

Yet again Tippsy doesn't disappoint by providing three different sakés that are completely different and worth more than what you pay for them as a package. I absolutely, no doubt, vouch for this service. These guys are doing great work at introducing new saké consumers, and long time saké enthusiasts, to exciting diversity in every package. Go ahead and use promocode SAKECLUB to get $10 off your first order.