Vancouver’s only sake distillery is located in Granville Island, and before today I didn’t think we had such a jewel on our hands.
I have been before and just figured that the Artisan Sake Maker did your run of the mill Japanese style sake, but on Canadian soil. It wasn’t until I actually got a chance to sit down and taste the sake with Masa, the owner, did I really grow to appreciate what they have done here.
This is Canada’s first boutique sake distillery where Masa has been making his brand of sake since 2006. They have recently celebrated their 20th year anniversary in June. They pride themselves on making a local, natural, and sustainable product. This also happens to be their 3 fundamental beliefs.
Before he made sake, Masa studied wine for two years, to be able to speak to the West Coast inspired techniques and trends. This has brought about a new category of sake done in traditional Japanese style with plenty of BC flavours and characteristics.
And best of all, there is no waste during the entire process, as they repurpose all of the leftover sake kasu cast. This is used to make their rice cream ice cream, collection of cookies, and food grade cosmetics. They even sell it by the container so that you can take it home to use as a marinade or cook with.
The rice is grown in their own farms in the Abbotsford and Surrey, in which they harvest from in September. This is the same rice that you can find within their decorative rice table. This is a visual piece of art to gather around.
They are not trying to complete with Japanese sake, promoting that their concept is very different. For one thing, in Japan you drink sake alone without food, and do it to keep traditions alive. Here, and in the West we drink to socialize and to enjoy what it is we are drinking, often with food. That is the culture they have brought to Artisan Sake Master, as evident through their sake & tapas pairing sets. We would try all three to best understand this one of a kind concept.
Their sake is created to have more umami notes and to be more sweeter, tapping into a more creative process with the consideration of potential food pairings. Sake for the West Coast, sake for the non-Japanese. Masa revealed that Japanese sake makers and producers have visited his distillery and have received it with mixed reviews. A bit of explanation is often needed, when they see the vision they understand and respect what he is trying to do for Japan and Canada.
We started with their Signature & Traditional Osake flight out of their tasting room named “Sake and tapas central”. Not only does “Tapas” here refer to the small local snacks accompanying the sake, but it also also translates to “lid”, speaking to how the the small food dish sits atop of and caps the sake glass.
All the sakes on menu were variations of junmai style sake, made purely from rice without the addition of any distilled alcohol. Having tried all three flights, I found them well grouped. The first was all complimentary as you travelled from left to right. The second trio highlighted their differences through contrast. And the third had the three pours stood alone, but found commonality along one similar vein with their chosen snack pairing.
The Signature & Traditional sake flight has all three tasters coming from one particular barrel. This was the best way to showcase how the flavours can change with the way you process it.
The Osaka Junmai Nama was the lightest of the three at 15%. It is treated with demineralize water, in order to have it more consumable. I got ripe lychee and juicy tropical fruit.
The saltiness of the Greek olive pairing transform the sake, making it even sweeter in contrast. This sake would be good with a salad with a citrus vinaigrette and/or with seafood. I would partner it like I would Pinot Pinot Gris or Blanc.
The Osaka Junmai Nama Genshu is 18%. This is bigger, bolder, and brighter with more citrus. It remains the same exactly as it comes out of the press. It shows slow legs from alcohol and/or sweetness. I got a lovely tangerine flavour that I found accented the curl of pork meat cured with the above mentioned sake kasu casting and no added sodium. This made the pork meat less salty, so that you get a clean taste of it. Its fattiness was cut by the higher acidity of the sake. This is the equivalent to a red wine like Merlot, one that you would pair with red meat and blue cheese. Of their selection, this sake has the highest alcohol content.
The last taster of this set was Junmai Nama Nigori. It was left intentionally cloudy with leftover sediment and lots of acidity. This made it saltier, so we had it last as to not let it influence the others before it. Like you would do with natural wine, this isn’t filtered so that nothing is striped away.
It was paired with cheese from Holland, as Masa wasn’t able to source one that he liked and thought would pair well with this locally. This was a chalky and smokey cheese, it had a brininess that coated the mouth. Here, the floral levity of the sake cleans and shine against this backdrop.
The second flight was the Specialty & Bubbly flight, where I found the sake and snack pairing contrasted one another. Each was then made more memorable because of the another.
The Osake Junmai Sparking used demineralized water as they didn’t want any added minerals to change its flavours. This is one of their flagship bottles from 2012. I found it barely carbonated and likened it to flat, fizzy water. This is great for those who have never had sake or claim that they don’t like it. Like entry level sake with little to no flavouring. In the mouth it felt like a Perrier.
It was paired with a single cashew coated in a lime salt. It was faint and gentle enough to stand next to such a subtle sake.
The Osake Junmai Nigori Sparkling was like the Junmai Nigori from the last flight, but more effervescent with tiny, tight bubbles. They left the leeds, but brought down the alcohol percentage and added some sweetener. It was amazing to note how much more body less than 1% more alcohol makes.
And the curve ball last taster was the Apple Yuzu Cooler. This isn’t their typical offering. They succumbed to trends, riding on the popularity of yuzu imported from Japanese and blended with apple concentrate from a supplier in Abbotsford. This is marketed as a low refreshment beverage, still made with sake, but with more added water to dilute.
To pair with this sweeter beverage that drank like juice, you got a piece of chocolate. Both a dessert-like end to this set, but with the chocolate being stronger and the juice to help wash the palate.
The last flight was the “Bold & Complex”. Masa described this as the Renaissance set, meant to represent rebirth. Something they have had and have done, that they are now bringing back. This set speaks to the industry and sake production. What is old is made a new, transitioning to a new era.
The Osake Renaissance is not what you think sake is. Intended to be a new category, and we saw that as we found it similar to vermouth. The herbal bitterness making it a great pairing with pizza or clam chowder. The mouthfeel is like a beer, but effervescent.
This we had with crispy fried caramelized anchovy. Growing up with it, I found it nostalgic and a terrific bar snack. Together both sake and snack had a similar saltiness vein, bringing the two together well.
Seeing as we changed our snack pairing, we now had to flip the order of our flight. This move was meant as a reset and a cleanse from the potent tiny fish.
The Osake Ginjo Genshu was the aged version of the Junmai Nama Genshu. It is aged 8 months in bootle with no leeds. This gives it a more smoother and rounder flavour. Something complex enough to have with cheese. Both sake and cheese finished richer and stronger in the mouth with some umami lingering.
The Osake Renaissance Nigori is more intense and almost herbal with the leeds in tact and increasing the acid. I got tropical fruit notes with the smell of lychee and the flavour of coconut on the tongue, ending woodsy on the palate. The mouthfeel was creamier making this heavy enough to have with curries or a nutty mushroom.
Here, I didn’t find that the meat pairing added anything to the mix. Instead, I would have liked a miso caramel or truffle dusting over popcorn as the matching snack.
With all three flights done we had originally intended on moving on to their regular food and drink menu, but sadly ran out of time. The tasting room was closing, so we were invited back another day to continue this visit as a part two.
Artisan Sake Maker
1339 Railspur Alley, Vancouver, BC V6H 4G9
(604) 685-7253
artisansakemaker.com
