Location: Tokyo, Japan
Address: 4-12-10 Jingumae,Shibuya (3F) but various other locations
Website: http://www.hasegawasaketen.com/index_en.html
Sure you
could have a glass of beer or wine, but what Hasegawa is known for is their
artisan sakes. Their website describes Koichi Hasegawa, the president, as a
powerful sake critic in Japan. But, he believes anyone can get to know sake and
what it takes is more experiences with tasting it. Lucky for me, as up until
this point I’ve only tried it a handful of times and know little about this
Japanese rice-based spirit.
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Address: 4-12-10 Jingumae,Shibuya (3F) but various other locations
Website: http://www.hasegawasaketen.com/index_en.html
Hasegawa
Saketen is a retail store with an onsite stand-up tasting bar. With various locations across Tokyo, we
stopped by the Omotesando Hills location situated on the third floor of an
architectural high-end mall.
For the first
round, we decided to rely on the expertise of the bartender and informed him,
with the help of a Japanese speaking friend, that we like dry and crisp tasting
sakes. He pours us three different kinds – my apologizes I can’t remember the
names of them but the bottles are pictured for your reference and each shot
ranged from ¥500 to ¥600.
When they are
presented side by side, the differences are apparent simply by looking at
them. The cloudier one, we’re told, is
younger and therefore has more impurities in it. In fact, the bullseye coasters
are supposed to help you look through the sake to spot any sediment.
My favourite
one was the one on the left, which had that clean & crisp taste and drier
finish we liked. Meanwhile, the younger sake was a bit harsh for my palette and
the one on the right a tad sweet.
For the
second round, we ordered things off the menu which sounded interesting. My choice was sparkling sake (¥400), which
based on the menu changes daily. During our visit, it was gorgeous pink colour
and arrived in a flute looking and even tasting like champagne. My husband opted for the kanehachi genshu
shochu (¥525; pictured on the right), another type of distilled spirit except
in this case made with barley (although Hasegawa also offered another made with
sweet potato). Shochu, with its 42% alcohol content, is like sipping tequila
and I really could have used a lime afterwards.
In the middle, was another sake called ugonotuski Daiginyo (¥800) and
interestingly was served in a wine glass. Perhaps, it’s the glass, but I loved
being able to swirl it and stick your nose in to really smell it. Out of everything I tasted, this was
definitely the best – still a crisp dry finish but with a bit more body.
A huge thank
you to our friend L. in Japan for introducing us to Hasegawa, it was a lovely
end to an afternoon of site seeing.
Hasegawa also has a fridge the size of a wall filled with sakes to
purchase and bring home. If liquor isn’t
your thing, there are also glasses, accessories and snacks that would make
great souvenirs and gifts.
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