Japanese Cormorant Waiting to Be Disgorged In this entry we turn our attention to a wine made from a grape varietal that is closely associated with Japan and close to our hearts as well—Muscat Bailey A. The wine under review today was produced in Gifu Prefecture with grapes sourced from Yamanashi Prefecture. Though not known … Continue reading Nagara Natural Winery‘s (長良天然ワイン酒造) Muscat Bailey A: A Gift from Gifu
A little while ago one of us came across an “island” shochu in a souvenir shop in Shizuoka Prefecture. We are not in the custom of buying alcoholic beverages at such establishments for various reasons, but this one caught our eye owing to its romaji (Roman letters) name, “Shoemon,” which we first read quickly and … Continue reading Shoemon Shochu
August 7, 2021 A hop, skip and jump away from Mitaka Station is Sekimae in Musashino, a suburb of Tokyo. This is where we had the privilege of participating in hop-picking. Back in April, we took part in the planting of the hops, which we covered here. Originally the hop-picking was scheduled for a few … Continue reading Tokyo Hop Picking @ Sekimae, Musashino!
In Experimentation Mode at Drinkingjapan.org Recently we engaged in a little literary Dumpster diving, went through our vast library with the finest of lice combs, and pulled up this little gem, You’re Really Cooking When You’re Cooking with SEVEN-UP!, which is available as a free download from Project Gutenberg* . Though hardly unique in the … Continue reading Constant Experimentation
Maki no Hatsuyuki (牧の初雪) Gruel has some negative connotations in popular culture. In the English-speaking world, the adjective “thin” frequently precedes the noun “gruel.” The word conjures up images of hapless Cinderella-types being gastronomically abused by harpies of various sorts. Perhaps the man who did the most to solidify its odious image is Charles Dickens, … Continue reading Maki no Hatsuyuki (牧の初雪）Doburoku: “Please, I Want Some More”
We had the good fortune of trying four different types of kijoshu recently: Hanatomoe Mizumoto x Mizumoto （花巴 水酛x水酛） Senkin Organic Nature 2021: Kijoshu (仙禽 オーガニックナチュール貴醸酒)Aizu Miyaizumi Kijoshu （會津宮泉 貴醸酒） Kokuryu Kijoshu （黒龍 貴醸酒） Kijoshu is a relatively new type of sake developed in 1973, but it actually has its roots in a type of sake brewed during the … Continue reading Kijoshu (貴醸酒)
The Wine Is Wonderful: The Bottle Should Be Bigger! We have written about Yama Budo Wine before, so if you are unfamiliar with this little-known wine and the grape from which it is made, please use the search function to read our previous postings. Recently, we had the good fortune to taste Yama Budo Wine … Continue reading Yama Budo Wine from Ina Wine Factory (伊那ワイン工房)
Drinking Japan 