The cold is creeping in and despite it being the season of fresh shinshu and shiboritate, it’s also the season for kanzake!
Yes, allow us to get on our soapbox (or maybe a komodaru?) and make another public service announcement – this time in the name of warm/hot sake.
It seems we are finally, for the most part, past the days of decrying warm sake as a method for covering flaws in bad sake, and it’s possibly safe now to say we have a far more educated public out there when it comes to the virtues of warm sake. (This may vary depending on where you are!)
But let’s take it to another level. Can we make kanzake the Christmas drink? Try it out!
Take a nice, dense nigori (maybe even a doburoku?) to that Christmas party, warm it up however you can, and pass it around. Then sit back and watch the expressions of revelation as your friends realize that eggnog’s days are numbered.
You can be extra festive and toss in a cinnamon stick and some nutmeg!
Go ahead! We dare you!
The most important thing is getting more people into sake and every little bit counts, so like we said last issue – stop waiting for the “right” moment to introduce sake – they’re all right moments!
And now for the news…
Mie- It’s actually kind of difficult to overstate just how popular the famed reptilian mutant, Godzilla is in Japan. As a consistent mainstay in Japanese cinema for 70 years with a solid fanbase in the over-50 demographic, and recognized internationally as a symbol of Japanese pop culture, it is little surprise that there is significant overlap in the fanbase of Godzilla and Japanese sake.
While it may not be a particularly new idea to use Japan’s favorite kaiju to help promote sake, it’s always fun to see the juxtaposition of Japanese tradition and pop culture.
Now, a new official Godzilla sake has been released to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the iconic “King of the Monsters”.
Maruhiko Shuzō in Mie Prefecture is behind Godzilla: Traces of the Fierce Battle Junmai Daiginjō, a sake described as being just as “soul-shaking” as the power of Godzilla!
