Carafe shared on 1/12/07 with Eric and Walt at Sakagura, for the small price of $65!
Looks like a brandy or cognac in the glass. Dark amber-mahogany with a shade of light chestnut. No head, of course, quite still and somewhat viscous. Transparent, but still very glassy and thick-looking.
Sweet raisins, dates, toffee and prunes in the nose do not signal your everyday sake. Light, oily wood character, aged crystal malts (just kidding, but it sort of smells like that) and some very refined, warming alcohol notes. A bit of acid, almost citric in a way, but with plenty of nuttiness balancing it. Very high strength of aroma, incredibly sniffable stuff.
Sweet, dessert-like flavors of raisins, marzipan, walnut paste, plums and even a touch of light sherry notes. No unwanted oxidation notes like you would find in beer. Ends with chewy, sweet fruits and nuts, with a strong, drying zip of alcohol that seems to have lots of warming vanilla character integrated as well. Soft, lush mouthfeel with lots of residual sugar. And though, overall, it’s a bit too sweet for me to really go crazy about, the balance is still impeccable for a dessert drink. I wouldn’t even call it syrupy, which is impressive considering it’s uncarbonated. Wish I knew more about sake, so that I could fully appreciate it, but I do know that I really enjoyed drinking it.