joshua84 Posted March 21, 2014 Posted March 21, 2014 What an unexpected combination. Was dabbling into sake and so happened I took out a Hoyo Epi 1 and it was quite a good combo. I'm drinking a Chitosezuru Tenrai which is very light bodied and a bit on the dry side with a slightly sweet finishing. It's described to be light and crisp. The sake is drunk cold as I find warming it does affect its delicate flavours. But on a very mild cigar, it matches the cigar better than white wine which I sometime find the acidity a bit overwhelming for an Epi 1. Next stop would be a junmai daiginjo type sake that I'll open for my daughter's birthday tomorrow.
fingerburner Posted March 21, 2014 Posted March 21, 2014 Never really thought of Sake as a good pairing...interesting. Thanks for the heads up. BTW, I would have thought that drinking it cold would close the flavours off more so than drinking it warm. But then again I've never really found Sake that interesting before. Cheers.
Habana Mike Posted March 21, 2014 Posted March 21, 2014 Sake and sushi may be but not cigars. Oh, I don't know about that. Have not done the pairing but believe it could actually work well. Cold Junmai Ginjo mountain sake is very light with some fruitiness and essentially a rice beer at any rate. Only cheap Sake is served warm. If anything the cigar would overpower the sake I'd think. Will have to try....
Skyfall Posted March 22, 2014 Posted March 22, 2014 I tried this pairing recently as well, and was pleasantly surprised.
sengjc Posted March 22, 2014 Posted March 22, 2014 I tried it before and it's quite good - Junmai Daiginjo served chilled. I think it will only work with the lighter bodied Cubans.
Tan1801 Posted March 22, 2014 Posted March 22, 2014 I've thought about the pairing but never given it a shot. Might be a good excuse to open a few of the bottles of sake in the cupboard. I tend to prefer my sake at room temp though hmm...........
Ken Gargett Posted March 22, 2014 Posted March 22, 2014 interesting thought. recently did an extensive sake tasting (article in ocean magazine - if the editor is okay with it, will see if i can copy it in here). fascinating stuff. i decided, as i have a couple of bottles of sake somewhere that i'd dig them out and try the combo tonight. could not find them anywhere but i did find a bottle of bowmore 21 year old islay i got at auction a few years ago and which i had completely forgotten. so tonight, it will be an old siglo vi, the bowmore and finishing off the Game of Thrones videos. as for sake and cigars, i do think it could work with certain sakes, not all. the ones i'd look for would be aged sakes - yes, i know they are reasonably rare but they have the flavour profile that might really work well. here are some thoughts on one of them. Tokubetsu Junmai Karesansui 10 Years ($100) Aged Sake is not common – on the basis of this, what a shame, though they do offer both a '20 Year' and a '30 Year'. My favourite Sake of the entire tasting. A smoky complex Sake. Hints of orange rind and caramel. Wow! Biscuit and white chocolate notes. Supple texture. Love it! that sounds like something that would work, though i was not thinking about that at the time.
Skyfall Posted March 22, 2014 Posted March 22, 2014 interesting thought. recently did an extensive sake tasting (article in ocean magazine - if the editor is okay with it, will see if i can copy it in here). fascinating stuff. i decided, as i have a couple of bottles of sake somewhere that i'd dig them out and try the combo tonight. could not find them anywhere but i did find a bottle of bowmore 21 year old islay i got at auction a few years ago and which i had completely forgotten. so tonight, it will be an old siglo vi, the bowmore and finishing off the Game of Thrones videos. as for sake and cigars, i do think it could work with certain sakes, not all. the ones i'd look for would be aged sakes - yes, i know they are reasonably rare but they have the flavour profile that might really work well. here are some thoughts on one of them. Tokubetsu Junmai Karesansui 10 Years ($100) Aged Sake is not common – on the basis of this, what a shame, though they do offer both a '20 Year' and a '30 Year'. My favourite Sake of the entire tasting. A smoky complex Sake. Hints of orange rind and caramel. Wow! Biscuit and white chocolate notes. Supple texture. Love it! that sounds like something that would work, though i was not thinking about that at the time. KG, what are your opinions on filtered vs unfiltered?
Tan1801 Posted March 22, 2014 Posted March 22, 2014 interesting thought. recently did an extensive sake tasting (article in ocean magazine - if the editor is okay with it, will see if i can copy it in here). fascinating stuff. I would love to see this posted up!
Ken Gargett Posted March 22, 2014 Posted March 22, 2014 KG, what are your opinions on filtered vs unfiltered? my understanding is that the vast majority of sake is filtered and that it needs to be, though i am no expert. sake called nigori is unfiltered and is cloudy with rice particles. don't think i have ever tried one. pasteurised or not, seems more of an issue. nigorizake is very lightly filtered.
Skyfall Posted March 22, 2014 Posted March 22, 2014 my understanding is that the vast majority of sake is filtered and that it needs to be, though i am no expert. sake called nigori is unfiltered and is cloudy with rice particles. don't think i have ever tried one. pasteurised or not, seems more of an issue. nigorizake is very lightly filtered. I actually really like the unfiltered ones. You are right they are very cloudy, but they can be very good.
Ken Gargett Posted March 22, 2014 Posted March 22, 2014 the evening's plans have changed. just found out the price of a bottle of that bowmore (no idea what i paid but would have been a fraction of what it now goes for). holy crap, with respect to the pontiff. almost unattainable and some places asking well over a grand. i hate it when this happens. i was quite happy opening it. now i have no idea what to do with it. perhaps an appleton 21 year old rum will ease my suffering. 1
subport Posted March 22, 2014 Posted March 22, 2014 Ken, just pop that bottle and start drinking it. Forget about the price. You're not gonna sell it You already bought it to drink it one day. That day is just here.
Ghabanos Posted March 22, 2014 Posted March 22, 2014 Sake and sushi may be but not cigars. I know to each their own. But I quite enjoy it... Been doing it for years!!!
Jeremy Festa Posted March 22, 2014 Posted March 22, 2014 Great thread. Enjoyed the combination about 6 months ago. In saying that, I was well inebriated at the time and was totally itching for a cigar! Will have to try it properly soon! From my mobile phone
joshua84 Posted March 23, 2014 Author Posted March 23, 2014 Last night just had a junmai daiginjo from Hakutsuru served chilled. Much fuller mouth feel than the tenrai. Almost syrupy and the flavour is more intense with more pronounced floral notes. Had it with a BRC with somehow the creaminess in the cigar matches the syrupy texture of the sake's mouth feel. Would love to find some aged sake as suggested by Ken.
CaptainQuintero Posted March 23, 2014 Posted March 23, 2014 I haven't had sake since I was 13! I need to grab some to test. Maybe a QDO panetela to pair?
Ken Gargett Posted March 25, 2014 Posted March 25, 2014 have not heard from my editor yet but for anyone interested in sake, this bloke is probably the world's leading non-japanese expert. Greetings, Announcing Sake Today : The World's 1st English Language Sake Magazine - Available Now The inaugural issue of Sake Today is full color on high -quality A4-sized paper with an extra-thick cover and glued-in spine. It is 60 pages of well-written articles from experts in the field, beautiful photography and advertisements from sake breweries. It is the world's first and only English-language sake magazine, and it's here to stay. Read articles by John Gauntner, Ry Beville, and from sake industry luminaries like Haruo Matsuzaki and Chieko Fujita, as well as pottery specialist Rob Yellin, and the other usual suspects of the sake world. There is something in Sake Today for any fan of sake. The website is live, and you can read some of the content online to get a feel for it. But we recommend the actual magazine itself, which can be yours for a mere $7 at http://www.sake-today.com/. Warm regards, John Gauntner John Gauntner
El Presidente Posted May 6, 2018 Posted May 6, 2018 I indulged in some kaze sake while recently OS. Paired with cigars it was indeed a treat. Need to explore sake and cigars more 1
luvdunhill Posted May 9, 2018 Posted May 9, 2018 My favorite is Dassai. Closer to the source the better.
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