Joto "The One with the Clocks" Daiginjo - 720ml
Please note, this product is not available for shipping. It is available for free pick-up or delivery in Portland, OR. "The One with the Clocks" is a fun hea...
Please note, this product is not available for shipping. It is available for free pick-up or delivery in Portland, OR.
"The One with the Clocks" is a fun head-scratcher of a name on a beautiful bottle. Who needs all these clocks? Who's so worked up about time? It's sake brewers everywhere, that's who.
Unlike winemaking, which naturally allows for degrees of "hands-off" interventionism, sake brewing is a wrought, technical, and often highly physical endeavor that has brewers working around the clock, performing repetitive brewing procedures at precise intervals. It's a load of work, and "The One with the Clocks" is decorated in tribute to this work. Also, there are 72 clocks total on the label of Joto Daiginjo and 72 is the number of hours it takes for the rice in this sake to become fully milled. (For a fascinating glimpse into the work of a brewery team, check out "The Birth of Sake" documentary.)
Joto's Daiginjo (Ultra-high-polish) is light and dry, with heady aromas of tropical fruit and melon. There's an interesting bit warm spiciness on the palate as well, reminiscent of cinnamon or maybe even black peppercorn. The texture is soft and silky, light like spring water. The finish is crisp and clean.
Another fascinating aspect of Joto's Daiginjo is the unique use of Apple Yeast in it's brewing. Nakao brewery is famous in Japan for originating ultra-premium sake and pioneering Ginjo and Daiginjo styles using this special yeast as a backbone to the techniques. Apple yeast is simply yeast that has been cultivated from apples. Although it doesn't necessarily impart apple-flavors into the sake, it does produce fantastically textured and richly aromatic sakes.
Combined with the Ultra-high-polished rice, "Clocks" also sports the lightening, Lifted effects of the added touch of brewers' alcohol (aka Honjozo tech.)