If you’re a first-time sake drinker, you’ll want to discard any notion that the beverage you are about to drink is akin to wine. Although sake is called rice wine, the similarity stops there in the name. It’s a singular beverage with a fascinating range of flavor profiles, but what distinguishes sake from wine is umami, the fifth taste after salty, sweet, sour, and bitter. Umami gives sake its distinctive richer and rounder mouthfeel, which throws a lot of wine drinkers for a loop since acidity usually defines a glass of wine. During fermentation, the proteins in rice are broken down and converted into nitrogen compounds containing amino acids, which add umami and richness to sake.
Sequoia Sake is brewed in San Francisco by husband-and-wife team Jake Myrick, Noriko Kamei, and their daughter Olivia. You can find this bottle of Genshu at True Sake on Hayes St. Open since 2002, True Sake was the first dedicated sake retail store outside Japan. With an enormous assortment and enthusiastic and knowledgable staff, they can suggest any sake to fit your preferred taste and budget. This Genshu is the perfect sake for beginners. Elegant, yet easy drinking. From True Sake’s tasting notes: “The nose on this locally produced handcrafted unpasteurized and undiluted; Genshu, sake is filled with grape, pineapple, sugar, ginger, apple, cereal, banana, and mint aromas. Look for a myriad of flavors such as young pear, mango, oatmeal, Asian pear, lemon, cantaloupe, and sparkling water liveliness.”
sequoiasake.com | truesake.com
Related: What to Drink Now: Sequoia Sake
