In Akita, sakura weeks are only a few weekends away. Hanami is a traditional custom, in which basically we gather under the cherry blossom trees to celebrate the arrival of spring; but we cannot fail to mention here that is closely associated with great food and Sake! Remember, they are the best thing Tohoku offers and it could be a way to help out the Tohoku!
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| Kakunodate Town's Famous Cherry Blossom Tunnels along the Hinokinai River |
So here is one really great recommendation of Sake for you to take!
Hideyoshi's Sakura Hirahira
Suzuki Shuzo-ten (鈴木酒造店) is a brewery of Hideyoshi （秀よし）, one of the most representative sake brands of Akita Prefecture. On April 5th, it has released “Sakura Hirahira” (桜ひらひら), a brand-new seasonal nigori-zake inspired by petals of cherry blossoms. The rice wine has alcoholic content of 8% and a distinctive tart-sweetness and lightness in the flavor.
Why Is It Pink? How to Enjoy It at Best?
Sakura Hirahira is a junmai-nama-chozo-shu (純米生貯蔵酒), which is basically a type of bottled Sake made of only rice and koji (steamed rice with koji-kin mold which gives sake yeast) that has been pasteurized once after reaching maturation stage. The characteristic light pink color comes from “Momoiro Nigori Kobo” (桃色にごり酵母；Lit, “Pink Nigori Koji”) that was produced by Nihon Jozo Kyokai (Brewing Society of Japan).
The “nama” (生;raw) variety have fresh flavor and are best served cooled. In Akita the cherry blossoms week will begin in late April. This sake will be a perfect match with your dishes under the cherry blossoms. Sakura Hirahira will be shipped out and become available at local liquor shops later this month. The brewer hopes it will inspire and invite new customers to the sake culture.
How to Find Your Bottle:
A 300ml bottle will be sold for 500 yen. Only 1,500 bottles will be available this starting year. In Tazawako Area, you can find it at Tazawako Ichi （田沢湖いち） and Hanadate Shoten （花館商店）in front of JR Tazawako Station as well as Lawson on route 46.
For more information, call Hideyoshi’s Suzuki Shuzoten (鈴木酒造店 TEL 0187-56-2121).
Reference: Sakigake On-the-web /Suzuki Shuzo-ten
Wow! This sake would make a nice keepsake if one travel in the area.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to have a drink under the cherry blossom someday. ^^
Haha! Thanks for the immediate response ^^
ReplyDeleteYes, we are all thrilled to try out this bottle. The "tart-sweetness and light" sounds so mouth-watering. And the bottle looks beautiful as well. We are pretty much sure it will become a sell-out LOL
Really nice.
ReplyDeleteBut the font is REALLY hard to read on the post.
Unfortunately, this is the only PR photo we were provided. We will give you a better picture once we have it in hand later this month :D
ReplyDeleteThanks for the idea!