The Flying Elvii (Sake in Vegas)

We're in Las Vegas as R. has a conference this week. I get a call from R. at the end of one session saying she needed some help finishing some sake. Captain Sake to the rescue. I didn't realise the difficulty of the task ahead of me.

Oimatsu "Kureji Miruku" Nigori. Ugh... not a fan of nigori, generally too sweet for my liking. This one is from Oimatsu Shuzo in Oita Prefecture, SMV -15. Ouch. This "Crazy Milk" wasn't quite creamy, but thick and almost slurry like. Obvious, one note rice sweetness. Just not my thing. Give me Korean makkoli any day.

Fortunately, R.'s sake distress signal lit up again while in my company. I was pleasantly surprised to see this next item:

Shirotaki Minatoya Tosuke Junmai Daiginjo from Echigo Yuzawa in Niigata Prefecture. It was almost exactly one year ago today that I had been in Echigo Yuzawa, skiing with my buddy N. I remember the sake fondly - clean and crisp, and very cold. That outing even spawned a habit - carrying sake when skiing. The Shirotaki was a blend of Yamada and Takane Nishiki rice, semaibuai 50%, SMV +3, and 15.5% abv. Crisp, clean, delicate, with a pleasing sourness on the finish. Good times.