1.8 liter bottle at Okariba. Clear. Rounded mellow nose with some vanilla, peach and orange. Great rice, full, fruity, a light touch of lactic acid. Very smooth and tasty and fresh. quite full and nice.

Glass at Komachi. Orange tint, oily. Very ricy, koji nose. Not very acidic or funky. A bit of acidity in the flavor, sweet, peaches, rice, a bit of yogurt. This was there junmai fermented to a lower attenuation, thus the lower alcohol and resulting sweetness. It’s ok, but nothing like the real thing. Don’t bother.

Bottle from Takashimaya. Meaty, smooth yogurt nose, a bit of alcohol burn, peaches. Oily and thick looking with a yellow tint. Smooth and full, lots of umami, nice yamahai acidity, lactic. A bit boozy but mellow body from the age. Good drinking stuff and great value.

750mL bottle, pours a clear white with a few bubbles. Aroma is quite milky, with lots of steamed rice with some residual sugar, and a little pear. Flavour is shy on any funk, with prominent alcohol and subdued rice notes with low residual sweetness. Finishes almost bitter, with loads of alcohol. Not being a usual sake rater, it’s difficult to compare, but this seems quite boozy and lacking in depth.

Tama cup from Takimoto. Slight yellowish tint. Lightly spicy aroma, cedar, a bit of yamahai acidity, rice. The acidity shows up more in the flavor, with some orange and melon plus pepper and spice, and a touch of vanilla. Light but s ooth body. Gpod balanced sweetness. Nothing like their better sakes, but pretty damn good for a low price honjozo.

720ml bottle from Yamamoto. Slightly yellowish color, a bit oily. Lightly funky nose, spices, light lactic acid. Flavor of funky, yogurt, lemon, rice, caramel, dashi. Funky. Nice light sweetness. silky, oily light body. Interesting fruitiness too. Another wild yeast wonder by Phillip Harper.

720 ml bottle from Takimoto. Cloudy white, not exactly thick, separates a bit from the watery part. Lemony, creamy nose, rice, koji. Very nice flavor, with acid and citrus notes, some stone fruits and esters, and a creamy vanilla yogurt-like aspect form the yamahai process. Yamahai character is not huge, but the tang balances the thickness of the sediment quite well, making it a very nice nigori. Not overly sweet either. Quite luscious.

Bottle from Takashimaya Kyoto. Yellow and clear. Ricy nose, acid, light vanilla and milk, some caramel. Fruity, acidic flavor. Full-on rice. Nice balance with fill rice sweetness and acid and alcohol. Flavors of orange, melon, cream. Good stuff. Could be a touch drier, but an excellent junmai, with wild yeast I presume.