Ice, Ice Baby: Enjoying Shichihonyari On the Rocks

Yasunobu Tomita

The good folks at Sakagura have put on another fun and exciting sake brewer event! This time it was Mr. Yasunobu Tomita, executive director of Tomita Shuzo from Shiga. I visited this brewery waaaay back in 2008.

Tomita-san arrived with a trick up his sleeve… he brought with him a new kid on the block: Shichihonyari Junmai Ginjo Nigori sake. I asked him about the profile for this new sake and he told me his goal was to create a nigori with a thick body that was not sweet but more dry and clean. Next, Tomita-san kinda shocked me. He recommended I try his nigori Junmai Ginjo on the rocks. I’d had Nama Genshu sake on the rocks, but not really a nigori.

Chillax! Shichihonyari Nigori on the rocks.

Well, I gave it a try and wowza, was it good. I actually tried on the rocks side by side with the identical nigori with no ice. There really was a difference. I think it effected the temperature, chilling the nigori a bit more and also bringing down the alcohol just a touch with the melting of the ice. Whatever it was, it works! I might have ordered a second carafe of Tomita’s nigori to experiment more with temperature – all in the name of sake science mind you.

Shichihonyari Tasting Set

The Shichihonyari tasting set was rounded out with their elegant but strapping Shichihonyari Shizuku Junmai Daiginjo and the classic, robust and beloved junmai for serving warm, the Shichihonyari Junmai. Everything was delicious and truly indicative of their artisanal nature – hand crafted, solid and elegant.

As a young sake brewer, Tomita-san is part of the new generation of Kuramoto leading us to find unique and fresh ways to enjoy their sake. On the rocks, gently warmed, room temp, chilled in a wine glass – sake can do it all. Now let’s get out there and start experimenting with temperature! I’ll bring the ice.