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Wonderfully crisp on the palate, Seikyo Takehara first offers up a little bit of fruit, followed by a little rice. Then an intriguing note of toasted grains and a little umami join in to add some bass to the treble. We've seen Takehara have a broad appeal across many different drinkers (and non-drinkers) of sake alike. I feel like it's a lot to do with the tight balance of wide ranging friendly flavors, while remaining inexpensive despite readily apparent high quality.

A cool thing here too, is that what “Takehara” refers to is the type of rice that this is made from. Takehara is a table rice indigenous to Hiroshima, where Seikyo is from. Plainly, table rice is the rice you eat. Sake, by and large for the past 150 years has been made from a type of rice that is specific for sake; it specifically makes for really great brewing but isn't common for eating. So it’s quite a stunt that Seikyo chose to flex their brewing prowess on a type of rice that the rest of the sake world has long since moved on from. It’s even more so a stunt that they stuck the landing perfectly on this one. Sake of this quality level, at this price point is a rare thing, but a rarity that we hunt after diligently.

Takehara does well at all temperatures. Chilled is my favorite though. It's also quite versatile at pairing. In general, I'd stick to lighter dishes. It's great with seafoods, sushi, sashimi, and crab alike. Hiroshima, where Seikyo comes from, is an ocean city, so this makes sense. It's great with salads, grilled veggies, and mushroom stir-fry. It's also good with garlicky pot stickers.