SakeOne Sake Flight

Ooooo boy. Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto with Toshiro Mifune as the lead character. Toshiro Mifune is amazing. He is the Clint Eastwood of Japan. No joking. He's a bad-ass mofo. And what better way to pay homage to my favorite Japanese actor than by pairing his legendary acting skills with the legendary beverage of Japan. Thus, the SakeOne Sake flight was born, rising from the ashes of Feudal Japan to be cradled lovingly in my stomach. I'm going to do this semi-live, meaning that I'll update/edit it as I get to each sample.

11:48pm -Up first is the SakeOne "G". Designed to be a 'cask strength' equivalent of sake, it clocks in at about 18% alcohol, firmly kicking the ass of many weaker, shittier tasting liquers. This is a weighty bastard. As you can see, the bottle is black and foreboding, standing like the monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey. My only complaint with the bottle is that its kinda hard to grip and pour with one hand if you have anything other than vice-like meat hooks. The screw-top could use some hatching or something because after chilling and letting it warm a bit, that thing was like trying to grip a fish underwater. But it was worth cracking it open. The smell is rich and fruity, resplendent with rice and even a malt-like smell. The fruit comes with it into the taste as well. Very fruity (pineapple) but clean, so very clean. The 18% ABV is nowhere to be found. Its smooth as silk going down. This is some fantastic stuff. Its so easy to just pour micro bits into a shot-glass and sip it along with the movie. It is also devastating my ability to watch this damn movie.

12:15 - Mifune started a fight with no dead people and a wooden sword. He ended the fight with 5 dead people and a stolen sword. This calls for a drink. Up next is an Organic Nigori Junmai Ginjo sake. I'm assuming the rice is completely organic for this particular beverage. It pours a milky white after a quick shake or two to mix up the sediment. It smells just as fruity as the last, with strong pineapple but it has a hint of creamy richness too. Taste follows with a delicious fruit sweetness and creamy rice flavor. Its almost like a rice pudding with pineapple chunks in it. Very nice, but the 16% alcohol is a bit noticeable. Has a nice anisette flavor on the background/aftertaste too. Normally I don't like anisette but it works well in this situation. I still think its a bit hot though. It does let you know it means business. And so does Mifune. After quaffing a few of these, I'm starting to think I prefer my sake filtered, or seishu. While the creaminess associated with the nigorizake is delicious, I feel it gets a bit too cloying after more than a few. The seishu sake though...I could drink that all damn day.


1:25 - Mifune has learned the error of his ways and he has been freed by a woman who loves him. Hurray! Break out the good stuff. The last bottle is an import by SakeOne. It is the Murai Family Tokubetsu Honjozo Sake, which translates to the best of the best. Aside from the fact that it has one of the coolest bottles I've ever seen, it is an damn fine beverage. Fruity, soft, and crisp, served cold it is an elegant drink. It is not cloyingly sweet but rather fresh and palate cleansing. What is left is a fragrant rice and fruit concoction that is delicious. It has a slight chocolate air on the aftertaste as it warms as well. Deceptively smooth for 15.5% ABV, this is an excellent sake. The rice and fruit on the forefront with the chocolate background make it a pleasure to sip as Mifune rounds out his journey on the first part of this trilogy.

All in all, SakeOne puts out some pretty awesome products. While I can't honestly recommend the nonfiltered sakes as they're really not my bag, they are all quality products and this is no shill speech. If you can find 'em local, check 'em out. They make and import quality product.