Ozeki (Champion) Sake

Brewed by Ozeki Sake (USA), Inc.
Style: Futsu-shu
Hollister, California USA

1.5 Liters, $7, California Market / Koreatown, L.A. / room temperature / appearance of city tap water; aroma of vegetable and alcohol; flavor of watered down sweet liquor - notes of fruit and vegetable; easy to drink; just enough to be good considering the price.

My new, favorite, American-brewed, cheap sake swill. Goes extremely well with casual reading, Settlers of Cataan, and video games. A clear sake, whose aroma displays a slight smokiness, a great dear of riceyness, and an unfortunate but slight chemical off-taste. The taste is, well, flavorful, and that’s about as much as I can expect for a budget sake. Has a sweeter side with peaches and pears, with a nicely weighted palate. Easily my number one budget sake.

0.75L bottle, extreme pale yellow with greenish taints and a touch of haziness. Aroma is probably of rice, strong alcohol and some cooked vegetables that sat in the fridge. Alcoholic flavours with touches of sweetness, but overall more dry than sweet, watery texture. An overly alcoholic sake that feells diluted and bland.

bottle - I have very little experience with sake, but tonight I drank this one alongside the Sho Chiku Bai classic sake that I had previously rated. I know, they’re different styles of sake, but it gave me something to compare. I tried the two sakes served both cold and warm. The Sho Chiku Bai is very clear while the Ozeki has a slight yellow tint. The Ozeki smells like ass. Alright, not ass, but it’s some unpleasant combination of alcohol, vegetable, and something rancid. It’s a bit harsh on the palate and has a taste of rice and alcohol and that strange unpleasantness again that I’d already smelled. It’s warming, but of course it is. It’s sake and has the high alcohol that’s standard. There’s no comparison though. The mellow Sho Chiku Bai is far superior. Ounce for ounce it was even cheaper at $9 for 750ml versus the $6 I paid for 375ml of this stuff.

I had a glass of this at a Chinese restaurant. The body is slightly hazy, but mostly clear. The aroma was strongly vegetable with some booze. There was also some sweet peaches. The taste was harsh celery with an alcohol burn. Light rice in the finish.

Bottle. Pours a clear, light gold with a very light green tint. Almost looks like tea. Taste is of rice and alcohol. Has a sugary sweetness to it. Aroma is of rice, alcohol and sugar. Reminds me of rubbing alcohol, but is not too much of a negative. Has an oily texture. To me, it smells like wine and drinks like water. Not a bad substance to get drunk on as it is unoffensive and is rather inexpensive.

Bottle from BevMo. Pours like water. Sweet fruity aroma. Somewhat candyish. A little grainy with some alcohol. Somewhat sweet flavored with ample alcohol. Some rubbing alcohol qualities. Not too impressive.

nearly clear with the slightest yellow tint. very sweet rice smell with some undetermined fruitiness and alcohol burn. the old sniffer was right... sticky palate with lots of soft sweet rice, mild florals and a mildly dry bitter finish. dirty alcohol burns before revealing an aftertaste that is purely sticky. medium to full bodied, oily texture and coating mouth feel. tingling from abv% at least clears off my tongue...