Rihaku Dreamy Clouds Nigori

Rihaku Dreamy Clouds was my gateway to more refined sake. Before I tried it, I was only drinking low-quality stuff. But it was love at first sip with this smooth, flavorful nigori.

This post will explain why I think Dreamy Clouds is both an excellent introductory sake and great for advanced drinkers. It also explores tasting notes, pairings, service suggestions, and brewery information. And if you want a bottle of your own, our affiliate retailers will ship it to your doorstep.

Rihaku Nigori: The Gateway Sake

It wasn’t an accident that I made Dreamy Clouds one of the first posts on my site. It’s a crowd-pleaser.

Dreamy Clouds is one of the more sophisticated nigori on the export market. But it’s an usu-nigori. This means it’s only slightly cloudy. So it functions as a bridge for the nigori drinker to standard seishu (“clear sake”). Or the other way around for the anti-nigori crowd.

A delicious balance of fruity, ricey, and savory notes is the other reason Rihaku Nigori is a fan favorite. It has a little something for every palate and is impressively complex.

Dreamy Clouds Tasting Notes

I’ve hyped it up a lot. Let’s dive deeper

Overall, Rihaku Nigori is light on the clouds and more complex and elegant than most of its chalky, sweet, tropical-flavored cousins. It has a lean, nutty, pumpkin-tinged flavor profile. And the finish is dry and fresh.

Dreamy Clouds has a metallic shine in the glass. The nose is moderately aromatic, and the texture is supple. 

Specific tasting notes include dried flowers, steamed rice, cashew, kabocha, lemon curd, and Granny Smith apple. It has that fruity/floral/umami mix that a good tokubetsu junmai will exhibit.

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Food Pairings for Rihaku Dreamy Clouds

This usu-nigori is more flexible than most nigori at the table. Dreamy Clouds pairs well with bitter and vegetable-based dishes. It’s also excellent with all kinds of sushi rolls, saba, aji, ikura, miso soup, and miso-based dishes. 

Temperature and Glassware Suggestions

Rihaku Nigori is best served chilled. But a little warmer or cooler than this is ok too. 

And this sake is great in all kinds of cups and glasses. The lighter silvery color of Dreamy Clouds looks great in a white wine glass. But Rihaku also looks and tastes just as good when served from smaller ceramic or porcelain cups. Do what makes you feel good here.

Technical & Production Info

Rice: Gohyakumangoku milled to 59%   Yeast: #9

SMV: +3   Acid: 1.6   ABV: 15.6%

Vine Connections Tech Sheet  

The Rihaku Sake Brewery

Brewery: Rihaku Shuzo 李白酒造      Location: Matsue, Shimane       EST: 1882

Official Site

The Rihaku name comes from the famed Chinese poet and drinker Li Po. The brewery is known to frequently use his words. 

Rihaku Shuzo is a small brewery producing < 1000kl annually. They blend traditional and modern brewing techniques and technology. Rihaku also tends to mill more than the minimum when it comes to their rice. Their toji hails from the local Izumo guild, Izumo being an old region around eastern Shimane.

Label Kana Translation

Rihaku 李白  Rihaku Shuzo 李白酒造 

Shimane-ken 島根県 

Tokubetsu Junmai 特別純米醸   Nigori にごり

Gohyakumangoku 五百万石