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Ginga Shizuku – Divine Droplets
"Very pale yellow. Complex nose offers saline, herbal and spicy notes,
with a minty coolness. Wonderfully subtle, complex and precise, with a
distinctly ethereal quality, high-pitched minerality and superb lift.
Finishes very dry and persistent, with lovely lift. This is made inside
an igloo in Hokkaido, in Japan’s extreme north, where below-freezing
temperature prevents unwanted bacteria from surviving, thus ensuring a
very pure saké. The clear saké is separated from the fermenting rice
lees by putting it into canvas bags and allowing the saké to drip out
overnight (as opposed to pressing it)." 94 Points, Stephen
Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, Online only, Aug. 2007
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Quality Grade: Junmai Daiginjo (at least
50% of rice grain polished away) 
Seimaibuai: 50% (50% of rice grain
polished away)
Rice: Yamada Nishiki
Nihonshu-do: +3
Alcohol: 15.6%
Acidity: 1.2
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Tasting Notes: A prominent fragrance, a
clean and fresh taste, with flavor deep into the recesses. Truly one of
the "Rolls-Royces" of saké.
Brewery Name: Takasago Shuzo (founded in
1899).
Brewery Location: Prefecture: Hokkaido
Toji (Master Brewer):
Tokujiro Sasaki
Notable Facts:
Each year, after the temperature
drops below 14 fahrenheit, they build an Ice Dome outside near the main
kura building. It is basically an igloo inside of which the temperature
stays about 28 F, with 90% humidity and no wind The low temperature
means "nasty bacteria" cannot survive, and it allows them to
make clean, pure, ultra-premium saké. Additionally, they separate the
clear saké from the fermenting rice lees not by pressing, but rather by
putting it into canvas bags and allowing the saké to drip out slowly
overnight, with no pressure at all applied to the mash.
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