Thank you for joining us at the Taste of Shimane on Saturday. I really enjoyed the very inspiring talks by our hosts at Shimanekan: Kuwabara-san, Sumiyoshi-san, and Inoue-san. In response to my thank you note, they said that it was really good for them as well to be reminded that Shimane offers such abundant history and culture that fascinate not only domestic but also international audiences. That was nice.

Pictures are in. Dan-dan, Jocelyn! She kindly posted pictures and updated her blog from the event where she has very nice photographs of the evening with interesting sake notes as well. I also posted a blog on the event at tokyofoodcast.com.

You, madam, are no Sei Shonagon
Pictures on Jocelyn' Flickr
Tokyofoodcast
Pictures: additional photo's on the meetup album

FYI, I am going to add some sake notes here. Shimane-kan has most of these sake for sale.

See you all at the next event!

Et-chan@Tokyofoodcast
Your Sake Event Coordinator

1. Juji Asahi Junmai Daiginjo Genshu
Brewery: Asahi Shuzo
Prefecture: Shimane
City: Izumo, right by the JR station
Grade: junmai daiginjo, genshu (undiluted sake)
ALC: 18-19%
Nihonshudo: +5.0
Acidity: 1.9
Amino acid:
Rice: Kairyo Omachi (Shimane)
Seimai buai: 60%

URL: http://www.jujiasahi....
(Japanese)

Group comments: sweet, strong, dewy, good balance, smoky, multi scope of flavor, mushroom, no nose, sweet, dry

When this sake was served, this was sort of a mystery sake--no one knew what this was since it was not on the menu. The restaurant arranged to have Juji Asahi for our event by our special request, but they did not tell us what it was.
Te-chan guessed this one was aged, I said "NO!". Well, I can think of all kinds of excuses - I was a designated driver when we visited the kura, I know they age their sake, but this one did not have much of that aged feel to it, blah, blah, blah.
He won. This bottle was aged for one year from 18BY, and I called the kura to verify it. When we visited this brewery, they said Kairyo Omachi is really popular and they sold out of 17BY. So, if you see this bottle anywhere, grab it!

2. Rihaku Tokubetsu Junmai Yamata no Orochi
Brewery: Rihaku Shuzo
Prefecture: Shimane
City: Matsue, walking distance from the castle
Grade: tokubetsu junmai
ALC: 15.5%
Nihonshudo: +6
Acidity: 1.6
Amino acid: 1.0
Rice: Gohyakumangoku
Seimai buai: 60%

URL: http://www.rihaku.co....
(Japanese, for some reason, their site is viewable only using IE, no navigation with Firefox)

Group comments: easy to drink, stubtle, no mouth feel
My notes from January: As kan, it brings out nice sweetness, goes really well with food with umami, soft and long lasting finish, rain in June(don't know what I was talking about). I like their Junmai Ginjo Omachi.

Rae, you asked which one is good kan sake. I think this one definitely is.

3. Kaishun Junmai Cho Karakuchi, Nakagumi,
Brewery: Wakabayashi Shuzo
Prefecture: Shimane
City: Yunotsu, sleepy little onsen town near Iwami Ginzan
Grade: junmai muroka nama
ALC: 17.5%
Nihonshudo: +15, yes! cho dry
Acidity: 1.6
Amino acid: 1.5
Rice: Kami no Mai
Seimai buai: 60%

URL: http://www.kaishun.co...
(Japanese)

Group comments: sharp, dry, high tone, honey-dew nose, then immediate alcohol followed by gingery and white peppery tail, too strong for sake beginners

4. Kokki Fune Shibori Junmai
Brewery: Kokki Shuzo
Prefecture: Shimane
City: Matsue, walking distance from the castle
Grade: junmai
ALC: 15-16%
Nihonshudo: +6.0
Acidity: 1.4
Amino acid:
Rice: Yamadanishiki
Seimai buai: 58%

URL: http://www.kokki.jp/...
(Japanese)
Group comments: sweet, quick, light, lots of fruit, mikan, McIntosh apple (not just any apple!), soft, finish quickly tastes like wine, Rae and Kay liked this one.

5. Nanakanba Junmai
Brewery: Hikami Seishu
Prefecture:Shimane
City: Oku Izumo, mountain side of Izumo
Grade: junmai
ALC: 15.0～16.0％
Nihonshudo: +5.0
Acidity: 1.6～1.8
Amino acid:
Rice: Gohyakumangoku, Kami no Mai
Seimai buai: 65%

URL: http://www.sake-hikam...

Group comments: fruity, sweet, vanilla, more like wine, taste fresh, sharp at first but smooth at throat

Nanakanba aka　Symboli Rudolf (not sure if this is spelled right) won 7 major races in 1984 and '85. That's where the name of this label comes from.
http://www.sake-hikam...