Nishiki Kurabu Sake
Rich and substantial on the palate, with a clean, light and fruity aroma. It is perfectly suitable as an isolated flavor and can be drunk without distraction. Imagine a Sunday evening, enjoying the passing of time
Product：Nishiki Kurabu Sake
Type of Sake Rice：Yamada Nishiki
Rice Polishing Ratio：50%
I
The aim of the KURABU series is to achieve harmony between people and explore our passion for rice. Nishiki rice is famous for being the ideal rice for making sake. We have selected for our purposes the unique sake rice “Yamada Nishiki”, the king of the sake rice. To care about people and rice means also to care for the land and the area, our Yamada Nishiki shares its home with the origin of the Yamada Nishiki variety. You will recognise the highly sophisticated taste in each sip of nishiki kurabu. It is made in hommage to the king of sake rice: Yamada Nishiki.
Some repetition above, lots of mentions of the king of sake rice.
*1Umami – Umami is one of the five basic tastes, together with: sweet, salty, bitter and sour.
II
New ideas have been poured into the Nishiki Kurabu as a result of our new Toji, Mr. Yukimachi, who took charge, it was his first brew for us. Until then we brewed Nishiki Kurabu under the guidance of Mr. Kusakabe, who would get the most out of the ingredients, this method can be risky as it can give rise to overly complex tastes. The combined ideas of the two Toji has created a new direction for the Takeno Brewery.
III
The project began with a conversation between the owner of a traditional Japanese restaurant in Gion district, Kyoto and Mr. Yukimachi Toji. The outcome was the idea of a sake with a rich clean taste, but not too high a price. The Toji thought deeply about which method could achieve this. He discovered that the Takeno Brewery would have a suitable technical specification to achieve this goal. He must balance the economy of ingredients and a delicate mixture of tastes. This required his complete dedication for several days.
IV
Has the Toji perfected the method? In 2010, he created a sweet and clean umami*1 tasting sake. Its glucose levels were not clear from the technical analysis, yet for our taste buds it had a deliciously refined sweetness. It was only the beginning for Mr. Yukimachi, though it may seem he has achieved completion, this special rice keeps him wondering. The Toji does not avoid the hardships, since these will allow him to make new discoveries which will improve his understanding. The path is not direct and the Toji must endure.
V
In 2013, we will brew the local grown Yamada Nishiki rice, first time. The direction of Nishiki Kurabu. Yamada Nishiki was born in Hyogo, a neighboring prefecture to Kyoto. We wondered if we could harvest Yamada Nishiki in local water. At this time we met a young farmer called Mr. Sumino, he harvests organic rice locally, only 10 minutes from the brewery. In spring 2013, we started the project together. We hope that Yamada Nishiki could help to regenerate the area, which is in a crisis of depopulation and abandonment. In 2013 we will brew the first locally grown Yamada Nishiki sake.