Too Good to be True?! - A Tasting Tribute

Sake Chellenge: Dessert

If you subscribe to the True Sake newsletter, which you should be, you already know that Beau Timken, owner and official "Sake Samurai" has launched the new web home for his San Francisco sake shop, the first of its kind in America. If you don't subscribe, then you need to.

Check it out!

The old website got the job done for a long time, but was quite basic.
Well, they've really kicked it into high gear now. Nice work Mr. Timken and crew!

I first found about Mr. Timken from the series of videos he did for Chow's "Obsessives" series.

His knowledgeis great and his enthusiasm for sake is infectious, and his Instagram feed is not to be missed.

I particularly enjoy Beau's 'Sake Challenge' newsletter segment, where he brings a bottle of sake to a restaurant and tries pairing it with a few dishes. It is all part of his crusade to show that sake has its place at the table outside the realm of Japanese cuisine, alongside wine, beer, and whatever else you drink with your food.

So, as a tribute to Beau and his sake challenge, and with his new website launching, I thought it would be a good time to post a mini-Sake Challenge. I would do the full-on, in-restaurant Sake Challenge, but I don't know any restaurants around here that are BYOB.

So, an at home, "Mini-Sake Challenge:"

Ichishima "Silk" Deluxe Junmai 

vs.

 Brittany's Blackberry Buckle (adapted from the Joy of Cooking Recipe)

"Why?" "Why not!" Well here a few reasons:

Blackberries are just coming into season here in Western NC. And Brittany has had the urge to bake something.

I visited Grand Asia Market in Charlotte recently and was delighted to learn that they had a few bottles I knew about, but never tried. This Ichishima was just such a one.

Inspired by Sachiko Tsukuda of Wagashi Kunpuu, in Bunkyo, Tokyo, I decided to pair this sake with something sweet.

This sake is off the SMV charts at -37, so, we are pairing sweet with sweet here, but interestingly, there is a nice balance of acidity, too. There's also a velvety smooth body, plus an aroma of ripened fruit to this sake. It's crisp, too, and has got potential to be paired with any number of sweet dishes.

Blackberry crumble is redolent with sweet/tart blackberries and has a rich, buttery crumb and a crunchy topping. There are some super-ripe berries in there as well as some less tart younger berries.

I thought the acidity of the sake would back up the berries in cutting the buttery richness of the cake nicely, and the fruitiness of the crumble and that of the sake would blend nicely.

Did they ever!

Sake and dessert? Yes! The Ichishima's acidity really cleansed the richness of the buckle and mingled it it's own ripe fruit notes nicely with the tart blackberry flavor of the crumble. The sweetest of the sake was reigned in too, probably by the sweetness of the buckle.

The only knock on this pairing, and it is a small one- the smooth body of this sake is just so lovely by itself, part of me just wants to enjoy it as a standalone. But hey, as a duo, these two work well- very well.

So, along the parameters that Mr. Timken set: "W" for "Works," "WW" for "Works Well," and "WWC," for Works World Class I rated the Silk Junmai and Blackberry Buckle:

"WW!"

So this at-home sake challenge is dedicated to Mr. Timken, in honor of his new website and his continued efforts in sharing sake in America!

And don't be afraid to explore a bit when drinking your sake. There are so many possibilities.

Thanks Beau!