Some number of days ago I got into a discussion with an acquaintance of mine about Waji's practice of keeping all the good sake under lock and key that went something like this:
"Most of what they have out in the open is domestic. It's too much effort to track down one of their sales people and have them open up the cabinet and so on." he says.
"Yeah... you know", I counter, "I found a really good domestic there the other day. Wish I could remember what it was called. It was in this squared-off, black ceramic bottle".
"Oh yeah... "G" or something like that. It's Momokawa too."
"Orly? I felt like kind of a douche buying it... the bottle screams `I'm so hip I can't see my feet'."
"Yeah. But it really is pretty good."
"Yeah"
So there you have it... two out of two individuals polled in our extremely scientific lunchtime survey agreed that:
- Tracking down Waji's staff is a pain in the butt.
- It sucks that you can't find shochu anywhere convenient in downtown Seattle.
- "G" is pretty good, but buying it makes you look like a dick.
"G" sake (aka Joy) is pretty fricking awesome; I'd go so far as to say it's the best domestic genshu I've had to date. It has a complex flavor that's way ahead of what other domestic breweries (Gekkeikan comes to mind) are offering these days. And, at 18% ABV, it's got a nice kick to it without being too crazy. That said, just look at their marketing and tell me that you wouldn't feel a little dirty buying a bottle.
