Norman

9.3

手取川 ひやおろし “Scarlet Mountain” (Tedorigawa Hiyaoroshi “Scarlet Mountain”)
• Rice: Yoshida’s autumn junmai (hiyaoroshi-style) release: Koji rice Yamada Nishiki and kake rice Ishikawamon.
• Polish ratio: 60% (per Yoshida’s autumn junmai seasonal spec). 
• ABV: 15%
• Sake type: Junmai Hiyaoroshi (純米 ひやおろし)
• Junmai = pure rice (no added brewer’s alcohol)
• Hiyaoroshi = an autumn release that’s been matured/rested after brewing so it drinks rounder and more umami-forward than a just-released sake (it’s a seasonal “timing/style” designation, not a single fixed recipe)
• Brewery: 吉田酒造店 (Yoshida Sake Brewery)
• Location: Ishikawa Prefecture (石川県), Japan
• Bottle size: 720ml
• Importer: World Sake Imports
• Date code: “2025.09”

How it drinks: This is the “fall food sake” lane. The core impression is rice-weight and savory smoothness, not high aromatics. You get that autumn-rested integration: less sharp edges, more umami and round mid-palate. It’s the bottle that gets better once soy, grilled notes, mushrooms, and richer fish show up.

Why it reads “autumn”: Hiyaoroshi tends to land in a sweet spot where amino acids and residual extract feel more knit together, so you perceive more umami and less angularity. It’s not necessarily sweeter, it’s just more “settled,” and your palate reads that as depth.

ChatGPT above.

Had this second and as much as the info above says it will read less angular/sharp edges it has some rough ones. Banana strongly on the nose. Reads rougher to me as it’s not silky smooth like the other bottle. The alcohol is more present and the weight on the palate isnt as easily perceived due to that. As much as I preferred the other I think this was fantastic with the warmer foods at the end of the omakase and especially when the fatty otoro came out. Was able to stand up to that wher tbe delicate prior bottle would have been lost. — 6 months ago

Monique Gillioen

9.0

€70 bij Atsu san, niet super droog — 3 years ago

Norman

9.4

Cloudy, better with the chill off, really strong flavors so not a “like-water” sake. Sweet, clean and warming — 4 years ago

Rob

9.0

Perfectly balanced — 5 years ago

Hiroyuki Hikichi

9.5

Rich and creamy. I like this beer from Ishikawa prefecture. — 7 years ago

Justin

9.5

Fills mouth with warmth and flavor. Seeing mountain on top of the air like I’m flying and walking on wire in the air and it’s sunny with wind and can see mountain from far and goes far away with mountain taste like green tips of mountain. — 8 years ago

Lunett/ Yosshi

Sake Specialist Hasegawa Sake Shop Tokyo

9.3

Kikuhime B.Y. Daiginjo/ Ishikawa prefecture, Japan — 6 months ago

Norman

9.0

Lightweight on the palate, I get a quick hit of melon but then it fades to a bitter hit with some heat that sticks for a while. — a year ago

Joel Roskind

9.2

Csw so sweet and delicious — 2 years ago

with Susan

Lunett/ Yosshi

Sake Specialist Hasegawa Sake Shop Tokyo

9.0

Kikuhime Yamahai Junmai unfiltered undiluted unpasteurized/ brewery: Kikuhime goushigaisha/ Ishikawa prefecture Japan — 3 years ago

Ian Hamel

9.4

2021/6/5 with delivery from Ishikawa. When we ate at Ishikawa a. Umber of years back we enjoyed a bottle of 1996 Ente Meursault, so I though it would be fun to have another mature bottle from the village this time. Deep gold with amber glints, this was clearly mature but not overly so for my tastes - lemon custard and nice acidity balanced the nutty, rich aged flavors. A really mature white Burgundy is such a rare, wonderful treat. — 5 years ago

Neal Krishna Devaraj

9.0

Very nice. Dry with hints of citrus and grass — 7 years ago

Aaron Tan

8.9

Quite muted at the start, with an accentuated soya sauce and overripe banana characters. The alcohol was also noticeable. I think it was probably served too cold and also needed some aeration because the saké really took a turn for the better in the last third of the bottle.

Quite a fine nihonshu. Nice balance of fruit (pear, apple, banana), umami (soy), and acidity. I think it may be style of the brewery, but it definitely has this light aldehedic notes (hazelnut, almond). There's an intriguing herbaceous undertone, that I think wasn't given a chance to develop. Finish felt short. Good texture once it opened up (white phenolic, sappy).

To be frank, I much prefer their more extreme Yamahai. Not a big fan of it either, but I don't particularly fancy the sort of "half-way" oxidative notes here. Seems distracting here, treading on un-balanced. Again, nit-picking.

NB: Could well be a faulty bottle, but notes online seems to indicate otherwise. The colour was impeccable (so bright and clear). I think it's just a preference thing. — 7 years ago

Norman

9.1

Bought this a while ago although the date on it is 08/2023 and I didn’t think it was that long ago. Nose is light. Flavor slightly bitter. Color yellow which could reflect the name. Finish lasts for a while but more on the alcohol side more than anything else. — 9 months ago

Norman

9.1

Noguchi Naohiko Sake Institute Premium Ouveau Honjozo. This has a lot of punch to it - little bit in the bitter side if taken by itself. Better with food and had with butterfish and sea perch sushi. Went very well with that after the differential with the prior sake was past. — 2 years ago

Vinny Brooklyn

9.3

New Year’s Day 2024. Wonderful although weird popping this open as news blares strong quakes in Ishikawa. — 3 years ago

Turd Ferguson

9.0

Tanrei junmai dai ginjo — 5 years ago

Rob

9.0

Perhaps my favourite sake from my tippsy subscription — 6 years ago

Hiroyuki Hikichi

9.0

Pale Ale with a fancy label from Kanazawa — 7 years ago

Lunett/ Yosshi

Sake Specialist Hasegawa Sake Shop Tokyo

8.9

Kikuhime yamahai junmai nomikiri genshu/ Kikuhime goushigaisha/ Ishikawa prefecture/ yamadanishiki/ rice polish ratio: 70%/ — 9 years ago