Tarumaru Junmai Taruzake
![<!--3800--!>Tarumaru Junmai Taruzake](http://www.fulamingo.com/cdn/shop/products/image_e2a5295c-2131-492b-9fc9-81d0223e8e27_800x.jpg?v=1617155602)
Please note, this product is not available for shipping. It is available for free pick-up or delivery in Portland, OR. This is a cedar sake with balance, dep...
Please note, this product is not available for shipping. It is available for free pick-up or delivery in Portland, OR.
This is a cedar sake with balance, depth, and complexity.
On the nose is a melange of savory elements that seem at once surprising, but not totally out of place: smoked fish (katsuo) and dried daikon radish. These aren't unpleasant smells at all. In fact, they stand out as facets of the primary aroma of fresh-cut cedar that is always going to be the biggest expression of any taruzake. (Taruzake, in case you were wondering, are sake aged in cedar casks.) Joining in, and rounding out these woody and savory notes, is also the smell of sweet rice.
The palate is lean and quite dry. There's a hint of umami, and overall the experience reminds me of fresh, clean, spring water bubbling up in the forest somewhere. The texture is opulent, with very slight acidity and astringency. It's a fantastic balance that the sake presents itself so gracefully without being overpowered by the woody cedar component.
Miyoshino Jozo is an extremely small, family-run brewery in the Kii Peninsula of Nara, run by young brewmaster Teruaki Hashimoto. Hashimoto-san focuses on using locally grown rice and brewing with naturally occurring yeast cultivated from his brewery.