HitokiriFyre wrote:True, only $6 savings... until you count the $17.05 savings on shipping (at least for here in Texas; varies state-to-state). So yeah, $23 off ain't a bad deal in my opinion.

Thanks bro! I was trying to figure this out for myself, but being from TX and you helping me with my math it seems like a good deal. In!

Vegan friendly? Vegan sake is impossible to find. Anyone know the answer?

Both labrat bottles were nigori?

goukanomegami wrote:Vegan friendly? Vegan sake is impossible to find. Anyone know the answer?

Why is that? Shouldn't all sake be, in theory, vegan?

HitokiriFyre wrote:True, only $6 savings... until you count the $17.05 savings on shipping (at least for here in Texas; varies state-to-state). So yeah, $23 off ain't a bad deal in my opinion.

Until you consider that I can pick them up locally very easily. However, tax must be considered.

I'm used to drinking Otokoyama. I saw this the other night at the store (and they were out of Otokoyama) but shied away from it. I'll give it some more consideration, but the deal doesn't make it an auto-buy for me.

Geckotek wrote:Until you consider that I can pick them up locally very easily. However, tax must be considered.

I'm used to drinking Otokoyama. I saw this the other night at the store (and they were out of Otokoyama) but shied away from it. I'll give it some more consideration, but the deal doesn't make it an auto-buy for me.

Talk about missing the point. Those were two websites being compared, not to mention that Woot's price AFTER shipping was less than the other site BEFORE shipping. Maybe you can find a local store with it, but that isn't applicable to the majority of us. Even if you can, I'm betting Woot's price wins out, even if you aren't satisfied with the level of savings. For the majority of us, this is a great value, although it may only be a decent value to you.

Would any sake aficianados care to take a look at BevMo's sake offerings and advise if any of them are 'good? Most of it is very cheap except Tozai, Murai and Rihaku. Wonder if any are somewhat comparable to the offering, I could try some before I buy this.

HitokiriFyre wrote:Talk about missing the point. Those were two websites being compared, not to mention that Woot's price AFTER shipping was less than the other site BEFORE shipping. Maybe you can find a local store with it, but that isn't applicable to the majority of us. Even if you can, I'm betting Woot's price wins out, even if you aren't satisfied with the level of savings. For the majority of us, this is a great value, although it may only be a decent value to you.

I didn't miss the point at all. I was speaking about the deal from MY perspective, meaning what I can get it for here locally in Texas.

Geckotek wrote:I didn't miss the point at all. I was speaking about the deal from MY perspective, meaning what I can get it for here locally in Texas.

You said "doesn't seem to be a very good deal". How were we supposed to know what you meant was "doesn't seem to be a good deal for me"??

I have been waiting for Sake to show up for some time now. I was so bummed the last time I waited and missed it.

Cheers to all

mejojoWOOT wrote:Would any sake aficianados care to take a look at BevMo's sake offerings and advise if any of them are 'good? Most of it is very cheap except Tozai, Murai and Rihaku. Wonder if any are somewhat comparable to the offering, I could try some before I buy this.

I use to work in a Japanese/Sushi restaurant and picked the brains of the chefs for as much sake knowledge as I could. From experience, you will be most likely to find the following four brands of sake in stores more than others (at least in the Midwest and the South): Ozeki, Gekkeikan, Momokawa, and Sho Chiku Bai. All four of these companies offer a wide range of sakes varying by rice quality, filtered/unfiltered, sweet/dry, etc. If you're new to sake then this offer is great because you get a wide range to try where otherwise an unfiltered may look scary or your first ever bottle of sake just doesn't agree with you.

Past luck has shown me that Whole Foods usually carries at least one Gekkeikan (Black & Gold - $15) and maybe a Tozai "Snow Maiden" in a 300ml bottle among a few other obscure bottles. Black & Gold is my "go-to" bottle of sake because the taste is floral, not too dry and is great for the price.

If you have a World Market close by then you might be able to pick up a bottle of the Momokawa Pearl or Diamond from this offering. At my restaurant we served the Pearl and considered it a good, non-threatening unfiltered sake to try. Typically unfiltered sakes will be sweeter than the regular bottles and will have a slight creamy feel.

Good luck with your adventure

rileyper wrote:

am i the only one who noticed this

http://酒.woot.com/ actually works

What's the Average delivery time for these?

Have been out there and seen these guys in action: they are not playing! Their quality is most high and they really enjoy their work. They will take time to make a sake rookie like myself comfortable and explain things (nope, Sake isn't a rice wine sir, it is actually brewed like a beer", "no, you do not have to drink it heated in a cup like a 1980's sushi bar", Etc. And the samples...oh My! Great product by an American co. Giving it a go in the Oregon woods! Buy American! WhooHooa
Vegas

fuzzy103 wrote:http://酒.woot.com/ actually works

I did too i just thought it was awesome seeing Kanji in the title.

I love humans. Pretty much anything you can press or grind up to create a mash we have fermented and turned into alcohol. We go through a lot of trouble to get our alcohol!

Sake is the elegant Japanese version of fermented mash, and like most other things they do it is high quality and very neat.

mnuahs wrote:No Wisconsin this time? Why aren't we on the list? Please tell me this is some sort of typo. Very upsetting. I got this last time in '08 and was not disappointed. I was hoping to get it this time as well.

Tennessee is not on the list either.

Relevant snippets from shipcompliantblog.com.

"Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam signed SB 1030 today, May 20, 2011, to open the entire state of Tennessee to direct wine shipments. ...
Approximately 35% of wineries that ship wine direct are licensed to ship into Tennessee. The increased market access is likely to encourage additional wineries to add Tennessee to their direct shipping programs"

I didn't poke around to see what the deal is with Wisconsin for you. But I'd assume it'd be a similar situation, and presumably SakéOne has not applied for (or completed) a license to directly ship to our states.

So, no saké for us today it seems. :-(

It's like a dream come true...

And then I realize, no Vermont.

I distinctly remembering buying not only wine, but sake. From Sake One. From Woot. *sigh*. It was pretty good.

And I'd been waiting literally years for another of these fine sales. And harping on wine.woot to do more sake sales.

Sake does not come up on Woot very often so I am in for a case. Momokawa flavors are tasty, though I am no expert.

It's a sake woot.....we're back! On my way to the San Francisco Sake Day celebration at the Japanese Cultural Center and in transit. WIsh I could answer all the great questions so I'll try to hit a few here.

What's new you ask? Our sakemaster, Greg Lorenz, spent three weeks with two master brewers from Yoshinogawa (founded in 1548 -FIFTEEN FORTY EIGHT!) observing and making suggestions on ways to improve his brewing. 4 months later the first of the "new" brews flowed from the tank and we just about started crying like 3 year olds. It was amazing. Brighter. Fuller flavor. RIcher. Holy smokes was the cry I let out. Its all different. Every one is more expressive, more true to its classification and style.

Get on this deal and have your sake perspective changed!

jbills wrote:if ever visiting the portland area, the "sakery" tour is really informative and fun. They give you the full rundown and then some, and I felt like I had just graduated sake school when I walked out. I thought I heard them say they are the only sake brewery (distillery?) in the US, but I could be mistaken. I'm not sure how purists receive sake one, but I personally have no problem supporting them - they do it up right.

We are the only production sake brewery (not distillery - no vodka here) outside of California that focuses on premium sake. The big guys in cal make mostly hot sake with a little of the good stuff. There is a very small operation starting up in Texas and a sake brew pub in Minneapolis.

Unhelpful labrat, coming thru...
Full disclosure:

Mrs Taco was out of town last night, and I was dragged to a birthday happy hour after work. After many pints, I made my way home to walk the dog, and attempt to take some notes on the Momokawa Ruby. Unfortunately the sake wasn't speaking to me, so I wrote it off to excessive beer, and planned to start again today. So far I'm off to a good start - I'll bet Woot can't wait to make me a rat again!

A new dawn, a new day, a new opportunity to write some progressive sake notes while watching European soccer and college football on the TV. I'm off to grab some breakfast, and then I hope you'll join me on this learning journey!

Be right back

goukanomegami wrote:Vegan friendly? Vegan sake is impossible to find. Anyone know the answer?

What do they put in sake that keeps it from being vegan?

specsmachine wrote:What do they put in sake that keeps it from being vegan?

I mean, don't you just want to say yes? Yes, it is vegan friendly. One less thing to worry/obsess over.

Will nobody please ever answer this question. Thanks.

specsmachine wrote:What do they put in sake that keeps it from being vegan?

Some makers use some gelatin in their process of production. That'd be why.

mejojoWOOT wrote:Would any sake aficianados care to take a look at BevMo's sake offerings and advise if any of them are 'good? Most of it is very cheap except Tozai, Murai and Rihaku. Wonder if any are somewhat comparable to the offering, I could try some before I buy this.

Bevmo has Murai family Sake? GOOD STUFF

carlhuck wrote:I use to work in a Japanese/Sushi restaurant and picked the brains of the chefs for as much sake knowledge as I could. From experience, you will be most likely to find the following four brands of sake in stores more than others (at least in the Midwest and the South): Ozeki, Gekkeikan, Momokawa, and Sho Chiku Bai. All four of these companies offer a wide range of sakes varying by rice quality, filtered/unfiltered, sweet/dry, etc. If you're new to sake then this offer is great because you get a wide range to try where otherwise an unfiltered may look scary or your first ever bottle of sake just doesn't agree with you.

Past luck has shown me that Whole Foods usually carries at least one Gekkeikan (Black & Gold - $15) and maybe a Tozai "Snow Maiden" in a 300ml bottle among a few other obscure bottles. Black & Gold is my "go-to" bottle of sake because the taste is floral, not too dry and is great for the price.

If you have a World Market close by then you might be able to pick up a bottle of the Momokawa Pearl or Diamond from this offering. At my restaurant we served the Pearl and considered it a good, non-threatening unfiltered sake to try. Typically unfiltered sakes will be sweeter than the regular bottles and will have a slight creamy feel.

Good luck with your adventure

Whole Foods here has a couple different Sake One Sakes.

specsmachine wrote:What do they put in sake that keeps it from being vegan?

soylent green

So I have a question here, as I am not a Sake expert by any means. Do these age at all like wines? How long does a bottle hold up while unopened and how long does it stay "fresh" so to speak after it has been opened?

sakeguy wrote:Get on this deal and have your sake perspective changed!

Get your NE shipping license and I'd probably do you one better and join the club! I will have you know, I wear the Castro Hat all the time, even though I don't look much like Castro. Well, I figured if I was gonna wear the hat I should probably have the beard, but I look more like a mad Russian than anything.

North316 wrote:So I have a question here, as I am not a Sake expert by any means. Do these age at all like wines? How long does a bottle hold up while unopened and how long does it stay "fresh" so to speak after it has been opened?

I can answer this definitively. I had kept a bottle of each of the Organics to age. First bottle, Nigori: the rice mash, um, turned black. Down the drain. the Second bottle
Junmai Ginjo: just didn't taste or smell right at all. Down the drain, along with my tears.

Drink these fresh and cold and you will be rewarded and content. Do not age these

If you like Sake and you're on the fence, just pull the trigger. I always keep a bottle of Momo Pearl and Diamond in the fridge for takeout Sushi, etc. and I have to tell you the quality is really exceptional.
If you're not sure if you like Sake, I'm still going to tell you to pull the trigger..part of the reason I keep these two in the fridge is their ability to win over Sake newbies. Really clean, vibrant interesting flavors.

Momokawa Silver
Sorry a late night with Bowtie's rapier wit and sake after menage a trois was too much and I overslept.

I was excited to be labratting a saké, particularly the Silver which is my favorite in the Momokawa line.

I tasted the saké three different times. I only pick up one aroma that I associate with saké. Reminds me of being in the woods after rain, so damp earth and organic. The lack of aroma may be the glass I used, since I couldn’t find the Reidel Saké O glasses.
Silver is their driest saké. It is very crisp and clean. We tasted something metallic, which they describe as steel. This is a very clean metal taste, not like sucking on a coin or something. There are just hints of pear that we picked up. We also could taste the slight brininess after reading their notes. It really seems just on the edge of the taste. Finish is nice and clean. No harshness of a cheap saké or alcohol burn.

This is my favorite saké for sushi. It cleanses and refreshes without having any flavors that would interfere with the fish. The other bottles in the Momokawa line get progressively sweeter, and I prefer the Silver and the Diamond for most evenings. Though the Ruby and Pearl have not lasted all that long in the past. And if I see the G Joy saké again, I will buy it in an instant.
A few years ago, we were in Oregon visiting the Willamette Valley for wine. We found ourselves in Forest Grove for breakfast, and I recalled it was the home of Saké One. I talked my friends into a visit and tasting. Turns out the other couple did not like saké. Thinking it was just that they never had good quality saké, they agreed to the visit. We tasted quite a range of sakes, including some of their imports and some saké cocktails. My friends decided it was a worthwhile visit, as they learned they don’t like good saké either. So saké is not a taste for everyone. But their son and I enjoyed experiencing a full range of saké at one time. The higher priced imports did taste better, but not in a way that shames the Momokawa. It showed us the QPR of the Momokawa, and that, like wine, there is something better that is worth paying for from time to time.

My shipment included a test tube labelled as "Koji". Looks little rice, but with powdery surfaces. I thought it was the milled rice. Then I read that saké is made with koji, rice and water. So they wouldn't repeat themselves.

So to answer What is Koji?, follow the link.

After reading it, I looked closer at the koji and the powedery surface is what they refer as "frosting". Being brave, my wife and I tasted a grain. It tastes of uncooked rice, but with a sugary sweetness that the article says will be there.

Not sure if the test tube is enough to start my own kura. And I have to learn how to mill rice. No way I am trying that by hand. So for the time being, I will stick to buying, not making, saké.

bmundt303 wrote:I mean, don't you just want to say yes? Yes, it is vegan friendly. One less thing to worry/obsess over.

Will nobody please ever answer this question. Thanks.

Vegan friendly is an important question and I am sorry to say that not all sake is indeed vegan friendly. Very common, as in wine, to use gelatin as a fining process. Gelatin helps pull out any unwanted proteins from the brewing process and to clarify the sake. The vegan safe sake are the two nigori in this offer as neither goes through clarification.

bhodilee wrote:I can answer this definitively. I had kept a bottle of each of the Organics to age. First bottle, Nigori: the rice mash, um, turned black. Down the drain. the Second bottle
Junmai Ginjo: just didn't taste or smell right at all. Down the drain, along with my tears.

Drink these fresh and cold and you will be rewarded and content. Do not age these

I you hold a bottle more than a few months keep it in the fridge. This will slow the agin process and allow sake to keep longer.

bhodilee - keep wearing that Castro and come West to visit sometime. Sorry our shipping permit has lapsed in your area. We just weren't shipping enough.

I recall from an earlier offering that saké has a date stamped when it was made/bottled. I just checked and there is a date on the Silver. Sakéguy suggested that you drink the bottle within a year. I have had their saké longer than that and it was fine, but I try to follow his expert advice and not keep it more than a year.

The other thing I learned from the first offering is that the best quality saké is meant to be drank chilled. It is the cheap, poor quality stuff that you heat to hide the imperfections. I saw an earlier comment this morning where he said that CA can only make hot saké. That meant he did not feel it was good quality.

sakeguy wrote:I you hold a bottle more than a few months keep it in the fridge. This will slow the agin process and allow sake to keep longer.

bhodilee - keep wearing that Castro and come West to visit sometime. Sorry our shipping permit has lapsed in your area. We just weren't shipping enough.

We are sorry too. Bowtie saké rants are famous in the CyberPub. So he would have been a very popular labrat.

Then again, that may be why I got the Silver and not him. So a win for me.

Anyone on the fence over 6 bottles and maybe thinking you won't drink it fast enough needs to think again. You'll finish a bottle faster than you can say Kuramoto and if you don't you'll be good to hold these for 6 - 8 months easy.

And, one of the wonderful things about sake is that if you don't finish a bottle once open, you can cap it and keep it in the fridge for about 3 months without it changing much. Sake doesn't oxidize like wine.

Get off the fence and get into Sake Day. Kanpai!