Norman

9.0

Hiyoroshi Junmai Daiginjo (飛露喜 純米大吟醸)
• Brewer: Hiroki Shuzo (Fukushima Prefecture)
• Style: Junmai Daiginjo This was all part of our Sake Day 2025 experience. We only tasted 60ish sakes out of an estimated 450, so a small fraction of what was available. While I attempted to rinse the glass with water and stay hydrated it’s difficult to fairly rate in this environment and I use it solely as a time to try a wide variety and interact with the brands. — 4 days ago

Norman

9.3

Katsuyama Den (勝山 伝). This is a premium sake from Katsuyama Shuzo in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. This was very nice.
• Type: Junmai Daiginjo (no added alcohol, very high polishing ratio)
• Rice polishing: ~35% (about 65% of each grain milled away)
• Style: Rich, elegant, with a deep umami core and layers of fruit (melon, pear) balanced by restrained sweetness. It’s designed to pair with fine cuisine, even red meat. This was all part of our Sake Day 2025 experience. We only tasted 60ish sakes out of an estimated 450, so a small fraction of what was available. While I attempted to rinse the glass with water and stay hydrated it’s difficult to fairly rate in this environment and I use it solely as a time to try a wide variety and interact with the brands. I might have annoyed her with the picture but this is a brand to search out. There were four options and I only got two of the photos. Top quartile of the night. — 5 days ago

Norman

9.3

Hakuro Shuzo (白露酒造) in Yamagata - Hakuro Ajyu
• Type / Grade: Junmai Ginjo (純米吟醸)
• Rice & Polish: Yamagata-grown Dewasansan (出羽燦々) 100%, polished to about 55%

This was all part of our Sake Day 2025 experience. We only tasted 60ish sakes out of an estimated 450, so a small fraction of what was available. While I attempted to rinse the glass with water and stay hydrated it’s difficult to fairly rate in this environment and I use it solely as a time to try a wide variety and interact with the brands. This is top quartile. I would search this out. — 5 days ago

Norman

9.4

Shirataki “Seven” Junmai Daiginjo at 25%. This is the highest level they have. It’s very nice. This was all part of our Sake Day 2025 experience. We only tasted 60ish sakes out of an estimated 450, so a small fraction of what was available. While I attempted to rinse the glass with water and stay hydrated it’s difficult to fairly rate in this environment and I use it solely as a time to try a wide variety and interact with the brands. This is top quartile. I would search this out. — 5 days ago

Norman

9.0

Okunomatsu Juhachidai Ihei, Daiginjo Shizukuzake I usually like drip sake but found this thin and not amazing. There was another drip sake later on which was amazing. This was all part of our Sake Day 2025 experience. We only tasted 60ish sakes out of an estimated 450, so a small fraction of what was available. While I attempted to rinse the glass with water and stay hydrated it’s difficult to fairly rate in this environment and I use it solely as a time to try a wide variety and interact with the brands. — 5 days ago

Norman

9.3

Katsuyama Ken (勝山 献)— from Katsuyama Shuzo in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture.

Very nice as well.
• Classification: Junmai Daiginjo
• Rice polishing: ~35% (about 65% of each grain polished away)
• Profile: Bright, fruit-forward aromatics (think ripe melon, pear, a hint of lychee) with clean acidity and a silky texture. Compared with Katsuyama Den, Ken is a little more lifted and aromatic, leaning toward a fresher, elegant style. This was all part of our Sake Day 2025 experience. We only tasted 60ish sakes out of an estimated 450, so a small fraction of what was available. While I attempted to rinse the glass with water and stay hydrated it’s difficult to fairly rate in this environment and I use it solely as a time to try a wide variety and interact with the brands. I might have annoyed her with the picture but this is a brand to search out. There were four options and I only got two of the photos. Top quartile of the night. — 5 days ago

Norman

9.3

Hakuro Shuzo (白露酒造) in Yamagata - Hakuro Suishu

• Type / Grade: Also Junmai Ginjo (純米吟醸)
• Rice & Polish: Same general Dewasansan/Yamagata spec but brewed to be lighter and more aromatic.
• Style markers: 生酒 (nama) = unpasteurized, but not labeled genshu; intended to be slightly more delicate and lower in alcohol than Ajyu.

This was all part of our Sake Day 2025 experience. We only tasted 60ish sakes out of an estimated 450, so a small fraction of what was available. While I attempted to rinse the glass with water and stay hydrated it’s difficult to fairly rate in this environment and I use it solely as a time to try a wide variety and interact with the brands. This is top quartile. I would search this out. — 5 days ago

Norman

9.0

This was all part of our Sake Day 2025 experience. We only tasted 60ish sakes out of an estimated 450, so a small fraction of what was available. While I attempted to rinse the glass with water and stay hydrated it’s difficult to fairly rate in this environment and I use it solely as a time to try a wide variety and interact with the brands. This was a post event dinner beer. Heavy mango flavor but not my favorite. — 5 days ago

Norman

9.1

This was all part of our Sake Day 2025 experience. We only tasted 60ish sakes out of an estimated 450, so a small fraction of what was available. While I attempted to rinse the glass with water and stay hydrated it’s difficult to fairly rate in this environment and I use it solely as a time to try a wide variety and interact with the brands. This is a more lemongrass flavor than I expected but nice. — 5 days ago

Norman

9.4

Katafune “Tobin” Daiginjo
• Brewery: Takeda Sake Brewing Co., Ltd. (Joetsu City, Niigata, Japan)
• Classification: Daiginjo (the highest polishing class under Junmai/Daiginjo styles)
• Rice Polishing Ratio: 45% (meaning 55% of each grain was milled away)
• Alcohol: 16–17%
• SMV (Sake Meter Value): +2.0 (mildly dry)
• Acidity: 1.3 (on the low side for sake)

The term “Tobin” refers to tobin-kakoi, a premium bottling method. After fermentation, the sake is bag-pressed and allowed to drip under gravity into 18-liter glass bottles called tobin. Only the free-run “nakadori” fraction—considered the cleanest and most balanced—goes into the final blend. This was all part of our Sake Day 2025 experience. We only tasted 60ish sakes out of an estimated 450, so a small fraction of what was available. While I attempted to rinse the glass with water and stay hydrated it’s difficult to fairly rate in this environment and I use it solely as a time to try a wide variety and interact with the brands. This was one of the best and I’m saying that with it being at the end of the night so the bar went up. Very nice. — 5 days ago