Taste with KJ – Half Bottles & Hanami 🌸
Springtime has officially sprung! I'll admit, I've been jealously scrolling on socials lately, gazing at friends and acquaintances enjoying the art of hanami in Japan. What is hanami, you ask? It's a celebration of cherry blossoms in full bloom. Hanami translates to simply, 'flower viewing,' but it's truly so much more than that. The practice stems back to ancient times where it was believed that the god of rice resided underneath cherry blossom trees. Since then, it has been customary to show appreciation by enjoying rice-based treats such as sake, dango, onigiri and more underneath sakura trees in full bloom.
To be honest, California isn't a hotbed for cherry blossom trees. Surprisingly, there are an impressive array of sakura on eastern side of the US, including Fairmont Park in Philadelphia, both the Bronx & Brooklyn Botanical Gardens in NYC and most famously the Yoshino trees in West Potomac Park in Washington D.C, gifted to our country as a beacon of friendship in 1912. Sadly, we are sorely lacking here in San Francisco. There are some in Japantown and a few outside of the Japanese Tea Garden, but none are in a comfortable place to hunker down and practice a proper hanami.
Generally hanami is sakura specific, but the reality is that any flowering tree can be used to enjoy this tradition. Every year, hanami is how I show religious praise and adoration. I like how it shows a reverence for nature and directly reflects my career path of choice. It sure beats pagan festivities and the intensity of the Catholic Easter traditions I grew up with!
Who could enjoy hanami without Dewazakura Oka Ginjo 'Cherry Bouquet'? This is the legendary sake that kicked off the ginjo boom in the '80s and was inspired by a spectacular showcase of sakura trees on Moint Maizuru in Yamagata which is in direct proximity to the brewery. The name also represents Oka's delicate aromas including melon, ripe cherries, sakura petals and bubblegum.
Heiwa Shuzo KID Junmai Daiginjo has to be one of my ultimate favorite sake in the store. While I usually gravitate towards more earthy, umami-driven sake styles, KID JDG has just enough juicy fruitiness to completely draw me in. This sake's papaya notes and underlying subtle sweetness make it a gorgeous alternative to white wine. The berry and plum notes mixed with tropical tones put this sake in a league of its own. Last year, I did an entire article on KID JDG with guacamole and summer salads, but I couldn't help but wonder how perfect it would be for a hanami outing, hence why I'm featuring it again!
I included a taruzake in the lineup because I was curious to see if pairing a cedar-aged sake with potent woodsy notes would suit our occasion, plus highlight some of the more floral confectionary we had planned to enjoy. Luckily, we now have Choryo Yoshinosugi Futsushu Taru 'Cedar Country' in 300ml format. This sake gives a very cedar onsen-like essence, with slight sweetness and fresh bark notes. In addition, it has aromas of honey, bright cypress and boiled bamboo shoots.
For this year’s hanami we chose our usual city picnic spot, the San Francisco Botanical Garden. It took us some time to get there, so the sake was out of the fridge for awhile. Luckily, they all showed very nicely at around 65F. We grabbed a large bounty of snacks in Japantown that day, which included spicy california roll, chicken karaage, simmered root vegetables, hijiki salad, ume onigiri, 'Riska Umai Wa Cheeze' puffs and sakura red bean mochi.
When pairing Dewazakura’s Oka, it was an easy complement to our sushi and karaage. With our simmered lotus root, it was less dynamic and it being closer to room temp made it even more challenging. When pairing Oka with our cheese puffs, it gave a pub cheese and pretzel effect. The umami in the ginjo, coming from it’s mellow anise notes started to emerge at this temp which was nice. It reminded us of marbled rye and pumpernickel bread. The sharp, clean finish at the end were complimentary to our snacks. Oka is a fine sake to pair with most picnic foods, but it really needs to be at a nice 51F hanahie level to be most successful.
Take a look at that ume!
Heiwa KID JDG gave us the most bang for our buck, pairing well with virtually everything we threw at it. The first pairing was a sour plum onigiri with the typical destroyed nori paper which I can never seem to open correctly! When paired with KID, we achieved a deep orange fruit vibe, exuding flavors of persimmon and salted mango. With the Riska Umai Wa Cheeze puffs, the cheese brightened up and the KID's glucose level matched perfectly with the cheesy/sucralose character (these puffs are my greatest new Japanese snack discovery, BTW). KID was outstanding, but would've been even better a touch colder. I wonder how good a mac and cheese pairing would be with chilled KID JDG...
Last but not least, was Choryo Taruzake paired with the hijiki seaweed salad. My partner was so inspired, he came up with this story to represent his experience:
"There once was a 7-year expat who went mushroom foraging in the Japanese forest. Late in the day, he ate mushrooms on top of seaweed salad from his back satchel, paired with a flask of taruzake. Upon first taste, he was in forest heaven. As for flavor, the hijiki 'out-woodsied' the sake and felt like a complete meal."
The other fun thing about this sake pairing is that temperature can be played with and can also suit the season. Choryo taru would be wonderful warm in winter, chilled ice cold in summertime and room temp in spring, paired with this dish. Try this sake chilled with braised vegetables and cold noodles too!
Sakura Mochi Challenge!
The ultimate challenge was finding which sake would pair best with a hanami classic: Sakura mochi filled with red bean and wrapped in salted sakura leaf.
Dewazakura 'Oka' JG: This sake cleans up the floral and sweet notes. It works!
Heiwa KID JDG: This worked and it's not surprising considering it has the most sweetness of the three. It would also be a good dessert pairing as long as the dessert isn't overly sugary. Vanilla gelato and Heiwa, anyone?
Choryo Taruzake: The worst of the bunch, but still not bad. For it to have a chance at success, it needs to be colder. I do like the merging of floral and woody essences though. I will try this again!
I hope this inspired you to go out there and enjoy some flower viewing for yourself! Even if the sakura aren't currently in bloom, find another favorite tree (preferably with white or pink flowers) to get cozy under with some yummy foods, close friends and of course, half bottles of nihonshu from True Sake!