Hou Hou Shu Sparkling Sake
Several months ago, I bought several bottles of sake to participate in a Wine Blogging Wednesday #72, which focused on helping Japan after the earthquake. I’m not sure what happened to other bloggers, but for whatever reason, it doesn’t seem as if WBW ever happened. I know I just ran out of time and never had a chance to taste, much less write-up a post about the sake. Two weekends ago, though, while drinking with my Wine Ladies, I decided it was time to open a bottle. Not being a big sake fan, I was a bit hesitant, but I also knew that if there was ever a group willing to experiment, it would be these ladies. So, we all had our first experience with sparkling sake.
Hou Hou Shu sparkling sake (website) was a pale yellow color with bubbles that clung to the sides of the glass. On the nose, there was a musty, mushy smell. In the mouth, there were peaches and nectarines. The sake had a fizzy rather than bubbly feel, with a good body.
Is this worth a glass after work? It’s worth more than one! What are you waiting for? At $13 for 300ml, this sake is like nothing I ever tasted before. It’s both tactile and tasty, almost like drinking a refreshing, alcoholic, carbonated peach juice. No one in the group is a sake fan, yet we were practically fighting over who could finish the rest of the bottle. I will definitely be on the lookout for this sake, as it is certainly a drink that I would like to have again.
Question of the Day: Are you a sake drinker?
Price: $13
Purchased at ShopWineDirect
Overall: 5 Corks
No I am not and that is a problem as we are importers of Italian wines and have a number of customers that are sushi restaurants.
Would appreciate any idea for a crash course and then ongoing places to visit.
We are looking to purchase.
Dale
Hi Dale…admittedly, most of what I’ve learned about sake has been online, although I’ve been thinking of taking a course locally. Since that may be hard in the US Virgin Islands, I suggest looking at Sake.com’s Introduction to Sake or WineGeek’s Introduction to Sake. I used their websites to get some basic information, so hopefully you’ll find them to be a good place to start as well.