This month marks the departure of our beloved Yardbird Junmai sake. Before our first restaurant, Yardbird, opened almost four years ago, founder Matt Abergel made friends with a man named Hiro Yoshikawa. Hiro was living in Hong Kong selling Japanese denim, but it just so happened that Hiro’s family had also been making sake for over 300 years!
With their shared passion on aesthetics and quality, Yardbird Junmai was born. The Yardbird restaurant logo, done by illustrator Evan Hecox, was the label for the sake and it was instantly a success in our restaurants.
My involvement came shortly thereafter with the release of our Yarbdird Junmai Nigori. This time, skateboard designer Cody Hudson did the label and I had the opportunity to consult on what was most important to me: the contents inside the bottle! I made sure the Nigori was unashamedly dry and that the slightly higher alcohol matched the texture of the kasu, or sake lees, that remained in the bottle. I also took the opportunity to reassess the Yardbird Junmai around the same time. In the end, I was able to make it even slightly more soft and drinkable than before. It tasted exactly like what people thought sake was supposed to taste like!
The brewery that was bottling our sake, called Taiko, has been in operation since 1672 and remains a family operation to this day in the prefecture of Shiga – not far from the city of Kyoto. The Yardbird sake is considered to be Junmai, or pure, in that there is no addition of spirits to the final product. The ingredients are simply rice, water, yeast and koji mold.
Bearing this in mind, it is important to note that like beer or whisky, the quality of the ingredients used in the production of sake is paramount. In this case, the water comes directly from an underground source linked to Ibuki Mountain and Lake Biwa. Because of these pristine water sources, the Shiga prefecture is known for remarkably hard water, ideal for bringing out nuance and complexity in Junmai sake.
Even though we have stopped bottling Yardbird sake, we have many other exciting projects in the works! The Taiko brewery of course continues to brew amazing sake and they also produce an incredibly complex umeshu. They have recently reworked their offerings and are selling their sake domestically and also internationally.
I only just had the chance to taste their sake with them and have reported my findings below.
‘Kurokabe’ Daiginjo
Country: Japan
Region: Shiga
Vintage: n/a
Score: 94 Points
Gentle, aromatic and subtle, the “Kurokabe” translates into “black wall” and is named after a famous square in Nagahama, south of Shiga. With a polishing rate of 50 percent and some spirit added for texture, this sake has really interesting notes of gin and tonic, kaffir lime and a salty character that keep it from being too sweet.
‘Gold’ Daiginjo
Country: Japan
Region: Shiga
Vintage: n/a
Score: 93 Points
The real flakes of gold that float in the sake are said to be good for digestion and for the skin. The sake itself is dry and linear with notes of Rice Krispies and white beans. Although slightly simple, this isn’t a bad thing. The gold works well as a session sake.
‘Appellation Contrôlée’ Junmai Daiginjo
Country: Japan
Region: Shiga
Vintage: n/a
Score: 98 Points
The greatest expression of terroir by Taiko, their AOC sake is also the most recent and last to be created by the current generation as the owner is now in his 80s. Thankfully, it is also the sake he is most proud of. AOC has a dry-vanilla flower perfume on the nose along with coconut shavings. The palate has a great umami character with almond paste and fresh coconut flesh while the finish is long, minerally and dry.
‘Appellation Contrôlée’ Junmai
Country: Japan
Region: Shiga
Vintage: n/a
Score: 91 Points
The AOC Junmai packs a pungent nose of barley miso and soy sauce. On the palate, the sake is rustic and round, oily and basic. In terms of a slightly oxidative and round style of sake, this works well although it needs a touch more acid to back them up. This is the type of sake that could work with Western cuisine – something savory like Ossobuco.
Umeshu Junmai
Country: Japan
Region: Shiga
Vintage: n/a
Score: 98 Points
A good umeshu is a very special thing and this is right on the money. The nose has dried peaches and apricots with candy apples all comingled with a very special oxidative, almost Vin Santo-like nose. The palate is as intensely sweet as it is sour: rich and honeyed with a rewarding, high-acid finish that stays on the palate like you just ate a toffee candy.
Contributing Editor Elliot Faber is the beverage director of two cool Japanese restaurants in Hong Kong – Yardbird and Ronin – as well as Sunday’s Grocery. He is also one of the world’s experts on sake, Japanese whisky, shochu, awamori and Japanese beer.
