sake and then there is sake

Lionel: Interesting lunch the other day as I was approached by a company to try some of their sakes and possibly help them find an importer in Malaysia. First and foremost, the Fukugen brewery is an old and established sake producer since 1758. This was the Edo period when the Samurai rode the streets and ruled the land. Owned by the Hirabayashi family, it has been passed from generation to generation and currently the president is the eighteen generation Seiko Hirabayashi.

Now to have a woman run a traditional family business like this is unusual enough, but Seiko is an impressive woman. Not only does she have pretty radical and forward thinking ideas on how to promote sake, she is also involve in the fashion business in Italy. Did I mention that she is good looking too?

Anyway, I digress. she apologize for only having 2 samples of pretty basic sake and not the best stuff which she promised to sent over.(yum, yum) the first bottle was one which she said had the best response from traditional wine lovers and we could see why. Medium bodied with slightly floral, fruity nose it reminded me of an Italian Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay.

Now the second smaller bottle was a lot sharper, tart but still with a very pleasant fruity nose without the sourish nose you usually find with some sakes. Very nice indeed and if these is the basic stuff, I can't wait for the better stuff to arrive.

Look out for the Fukugen sake!