Yoi no Tsuki Daiginjo– Midnight Moon

Yoi no Tsuki Daiginjo– Midnight Moon

At a Glance: A quirky Daiginjo that brings a little extra umami and texture to an otherwise pretty, fruit-forward style. Quite complex and delicious!

 

Yoi no Tsuki 宵の月 Daiginjo “Midnight Moon” is a wonderful representation of Iwate sake and the Nanbu brewing style. It’s an aromatic, soft textured, and smooth sake. Tasting notes include ripe raspberry, melon, daphne, dried flowers, sour rice, and wet concrete. Yoi no Tsuki has a mild sweetness upon impact, but the finish is compact and dry.

Hiroko Yokosawa is a female toji that has consistently produced sake that is loaded with character, complex, yet approachable. She distills as well– making kasutori and kome-jochu (rice shochu) to blend into her sake. This practice goes above and beyond what most brewers are willing to do in the search of quality. 

Pairing/ Service

Yoi no Tsuki Daiginjo pairs well with a wide range of nigiri, sashimi, and maki. Uni, shellfish, salads, bitter greens, and steamed seafood are also good pairings with Yoi no Tsuki.

Serve Midnight Moon from cold to a slight chill. Stemware is highly recommended as it accentuates the pretty aromatics and structure. Ochoko will highlight the fruit and turn down the volume a bit. Lightness and sweetness will be highlighted in these smaller traditional cups. 

Tech & Production Info

Rice: Ginginga milled to 50%    Yeast: “Giovanni’s Investigation”

Daiginjo using shochu distilled in-house

SMV: +2.5   Acid: 1.3   Amino Acid: 1.2   ABV: 16.5%

the Brewery

Brewery: Tsukinowa Shuzo 月の輪酒造店    Location: Shiwa, Iwate     EST: 1886

Tsukinowa 月の輪 Shuzo is a fun brewery that makes true Jizake in Iwate prefecture. They adhere to the Nanbu style of brewing. But the brewery has a few practices that set it apart from many others using this popular guild’s methods. First, Tsukinowa uses a lot of mochi rice もち米 for their seishu. Next, they prefer to draw out their koji propagation for an extended time leading to greater character and quality. Additionally, Tsukinowa distills kasutori and shochu. This is bottled on its own and used to fortify their aru-ten sake. Lastly, and importantly, Tsukinowa is also one of the few breweries with a female toji: Hiroko Yokosawa.

READ MORE about the Tsukinowa Brewery

Official Website       Great info from the US Importer Sake Story

Label Translation 

Tsukinowa Shuzoten 月の輪酒造店  Yoi no Tsuki 宵の月

Daiginjo-shu 大吟醸

Ginginga 吟ぎんが

Iwate-ken 岩手県  Kitakami 北上