Kikusui Kunko Funaguchi Nama Genshu (Black)
Alcohol: 19%
Class: Honjozo, Nama, Genshu
Sake Meter Value(SMV): -2/Sweet
Rice: Gohyakumangoku
Amino acid: 1.1
Acidity: 1.8
Rice-Polishing Ratio: 70%
Kobo: N/A
Brewery: Kikusui sake, located in Niigata, Japan
One out of four series of Kikusui Funaguchi that comes in can, which keeps this unpasteurized sake fresh as it blocks out the UV light. To break down the names, Funaguchi literally means the mouth of the boat which refers to the draining hole of the boat-like tank where the rice moromi is pressed to draw the sake out. This sake is also ‘ichiban shibori,’ literally translated to first-press and refers to the first batch of sake you get out of pressing the rice moromi. Kunko means aromatic as this sake hits you at the nose with it’s strong aromatics. Nama means fresh, meaning unpasteurized and genshu means it’s undiluted, giving it a higher percentage of alcohol content. Interesting fact about this honjozo is that instead of fortifying with brewer’s alcohol (ehtyl), which would make the flavor lighter and more simple, they fortified the sake with sake-kasu shochu, giving it a complex blend of flavors. Appearance is slightly golden, and to the nose you get a fruity ginjo-like aroma reminiscent of bananas, apple and lemon, but to the taste it is completely on another level with the fresh sweetness from the rice and with a chocolaty, velvety cherry finish that will almost question what you just drank.
Temperature: chilled
Food pairing: try spicy and salty food as the sweetness will give you a nice balance of flavors in your mouth
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