Bottle 3 – Sawa no I – Tokubetsu Junmai
I am proud to be reviewing this superb offering from the always reliable Sawa no I Brewery. Set on the banks of the Tama River in Western Tokyo, Sawa no I has been churning out great sake for three centuries, due to its being in an area with abundant wells that provide the clean, pure, water required of all sakes of distinction. No trip to Tokyo, I think, is really complete without a trip to their brewery (kura), which is beautiful in all seasons, especially the autumn when the leaves set the river ablaze.

As for their Tokubetsu Junmai, I could best summarize this offering as, well, a good honest brew. There is nothing pretentious or mysterious about it. It is as about as straight forward a junmai as one could expect, with abundant rice taste, a tight, dry consistency with a pleasant rice nose. The one word that best describes this brew is smooth. This is an extremely drinkable sake that one could drink a lot of at one sitting. It is absolutely perfect with any type of Japanese food and is a great complement to table rice. I drank this with choppoed tuna on rice (maguro tataki),with shiso and soy sauce, tofu and ponzu, tempura and miso soup; and this Tokubetsu Junmai was the perfect accompaniment.

This is not the fruity, aromatic, Nihon-shu that I would use to ensnare a newbie to the game, as its charms may elude them, as they did me for some time. But someone who has a few bottles under the belt would realize very quickly that this brew is one that is liable to be a staple in fridge. It is just so smooth, that I would likely reach past many of my dai ginjo favorites for a bottle of this quite excellent example of Tokyo sake at its best.

With a semai buai of 60%, Sawa no I Tokubetsu Junmai is best served in the below-room-temperature to heated nurukan range. I enjoyed it best around room temperature, which is another attractive aspect of drinking this during extended drinking. Instead of worrying about keeping it chilled and drinking it one guinomi at a time, or fretting over when it has been heated exactly to nurukan, a drinker can just set this on the table and continue to pour, as it is at its best in that environment. Great with any food, especially Japanese, a bottle is a down right steal at about Y1200 for 720mL.

To give this a star rating is unfair since it is impossible to compare against the superlative dai ginjos, especially when in many cases I may prefer this. So let’s just rate this a Fridge Favorite, something to always have around and is suited to any occasion.

If you are ever in Sawai, in Western Tokyo, be sure to check out the Sawa no I brewery and sample their wares.