Shichihonyari 80% Junmai Nama
Genshu with pewter chokko

It wasn’t long ago that Et-chan waxed rhapsodic about Shichihonyari, but I couldn’t resist coming back to them this week. The fact that we had two bottles in the fridge that we had ordered after Tomita Shuzo’s recent visit to Takase-sensei’s benkyokai helped.

At a milling rate of just 80%, this doesn’t qualify for ginjo, but that doesn’t matter. Tomita Shuzo takes great care in their brewing and they have a strong direction. This bottle will give anyone a good, if very big and bold, grounding in their style of sake. First, it is made from local Tama Hikari rice. They take their roots and their traditions seriously. Second, it is quite clean has an excellent balanced finish that lingers just enough. Third, the rich sweetness even at a Nihonshudo of +7.5 is complemented with a strong acidity to yield a truly satisfying sip. I opened this one for a refreshing break from slaving over an overheated laptop and poured into my special pewter chokko for an indulgent end to the day. Time to look for something to snack on too, but nothing handy as the cupboard is pretty bare tonight. Too bad I can’t take this across the street to our local steak house and try that match up. I’m sure it would go nicely!

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