Kinkon Junmai Usu-nigori

“Are there any breweries in Tokyo?” Not only visitors from overseas, but even locals ask this question with a tone that tells me they expect a “No”. That’s my favorite moment to come back and respond, “Actually, we have some really good sake breweries in Tokyo….”

Last Monday was the monthly tasting at Ichibe in Ogikubo where they featured Toshimaya Shuzo from Tokyo who brew Kinkon and Okunokami. We visited the brewery in March last year as Tokyo Sake Meetup and had a great time.

For the opening kanpai, Tanaka-san from Toshimaya Shuzo, selected this bottle, Kinkon Junmai Usu-nigori. It’s a very dry bubbly light nigori, which is perfect for a first drink on a hot summer evening. The brewer selected Akebono rice, or regular table rice, to brew this bottle last season and experimented with the ratio of moromi added to the brew to get the right balance of bubbly action and the taste he wanted.

About Toshimaya Shuzo in English