We were attracted to this sake by its label art: like metal to magnet, the image of the beguiling bird depicted thereon prevented us from opening the bottle with our customary alacrity. We stared at it for quite some time contemplating it as art before our thoughts turned to the bird itself—the kingfisher—which led us inexorably onto the road to research.
One of us here at drinkingjapan.org has seen a kingfisher in the flesh—no, make that “feathers”—on several occasions but did not know much about this carnivorous avian until now. These winged wonders are noted for their truculence when pursuing their prey. Their take-no-prisoners approach is somewhat reminiscent of the behavior of the hordes that swoop down on discounted merchandise on Black Friday. The kingfisher leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to birdsong—think cackles here—but it makes up for that with its mealtime antics. There is no dinner-table etiquette of the “please-pass-me-the-salt variety” whatsoever, just hasty consumption. The fish-eating variety of kingfisher will often swallow its meal whole, but being unable to digest the bones, it will eventually, like owls and some other creatures, upchuck an agglomeration of such things in the form of a pellet. As might be expected, there is a market for such pellets, at least the ones that the owls regurgitate, but perhaps this is all a bit disconcerting for some of our readers, so we will move on to the beverage under review.
Kuromatsu Senjo Kawasemi (黒松 仙釀 カワセミ) is an unpasteurized sake made by Senjo (仙釀) located in Ina City, Nagano Prefecture. It has an abv of 14%, a seimaibuai of 55%, a subtle ricey nose, a nice balance between sweetness and acidity, and a medium finish. We imagine that it would pair very nicely with kabayaki, but unfortunately our refrigerator was devoid of eels. Alas, if only we had a kingfisher in our employ! We recommend trying this sake for what is both inside and outside the bottle.
Note: Members of the kingfisher family, all with big heads and carnivorous, can be found in many countries, except in India, where it transforms itself into a beer and opts for an upper case “K” in its name.
Drinking Japan 