Kikusui Brewing Company

Saké Brewery in Shibata, Niigata, Japan 🇯🇵

Contact
750, Shimagata, Shibata, 957-0011, Japan
Description
菊水 This is the Niigara Kikusui, the more famous one. There is also one in Nagano with different characters.

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6.2
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

Bottle sample at Narita Airport duty free, pours a cloudy white. Nose is boozy, with lychee, booze, and earthy muddled notes. Flavour has a sort of liquorice and star anise character, with soft lychee and boozy white wine. Lots of liquorice and booze on the finish, almost like a weak absinthe. Odd.

Tried from Bottle on 03 Aug 2023 at 08:53


6
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6

Bottle sample at Narita Airport duty free, pours a hazy orange. Aroma is very sweet, with sweet plum juice, light lychee, and some boozy white wine. Flavour is like sweet plum juice, soft rice notes, light lychee and very gentle booze. Way too sweet for me.

Tried from Bottle on 03 Aug 2023 at 08:51


6.6
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

Bottle sample at Narita Airport duty free, pours a hazy white. Nose brings out gentle lychee and a touch of booze. Flavour is sweet and lightly boozy, with lychee, sweet rice and moderate booze. Pleasant and not too harsh. Good.

Tried from Bottle on 03 Aug 2023 at 06:37


7.1
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8.5

Taster at Benihana in SLC.
Translucent. Rice, sweet fruit, dry finish.
Tasty

Tried on 21 Jul 2023 at 01:38


7
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6

200mL canned Jul 2, 2021, drunk 9/23/22.
Yellowish tinged.
Hot, mushy rice, very nutty and sweet yet not boozey in aroma. Certainly not very fruity or subtle, either.
Sweet and nutty with intense rice character and a bit of spice and mineral on the end. Not sharp/hot alcohol yet it's still there, inevitably. No real complexity, though maybe a bit of overripe melon. It's definitely interesting and certainly different than the soft, delicate, fruity ginjos and daiginjos, but ultimately just a bit too simply ricey-sweet, I think.

Tried from Can on 24 Sep 2022 at 02:29


6.5
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

Style tick. Bottle. Only the behaviour of bubbles and the slight legs lets you know it's not water. Aroma of rice richness, some honeydew melon. Smooth with a rich, round mouthfeel that ends with a gentle spiciness. Slightly fruity - melon, older lemon. No overt alcohol. One of those that tries to make a virtue of plainness. And fair enough.

Tried from Bottle on 24 May 2022 at 14:57


7.1
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

200 ml can from Whole Foods, Richmond. As 'Funigashi Nama Genshu Original Gold.' Aroma is fruity, nutty and boozy. Completely clear. No head. Medium sour. With a boozy edge. Fruity. Gluey. Slightly veg umami. Medium bodied. Slick verging on creamy. Flat carbonation..Long warming astringent finish. Actually makes me think of a Barley Wine. I like this.

Tried from Can on 01 Jun 2021 at 18:35


6.4
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

How: Can.
Where: Had at home.
Appearance: Clear colour with no head.
Aroma: Rice, fruit, alcohol.
Body: Medium body, flat carbonation.
Flavour: Rice, fruit, alcohol.

Tried from Can on 08 Jan 2021 at 09:45


7.1
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

20cl can at Hashimoto, Rimini, Italy. Pours fully transparent. Aroma is mild anise. Body is average. Taste is medium sweet, with some real bitterness coming up later, and some acidity. Final is long and pleasant.

Tried from Can on 28 Nov 2019 at 20:01


8.5
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 8

720 ml bottle from Furusato Nozei. Picked it up after seeing the ratings of my German friends. Big, spicy, fruity nose. Lots of ginjo-ka, western pears, melon, cedar. Mellow, viscous, clear. Slightly sweet flavor of ripe pears, rice, a touch of vanilla, melon, apple. Very rich and spicy, not the typical ethereal fruitiness of a refined daigin, but more solid. Silky, lovely body. Peppery, prickly finish with some alcohol heat. Fantastic stuff.

Tried from Bottle on 30 Oct 2019 at 09:14