The New Kid at the Disco: Dreamy Clouds Namazake
We have a new bottle making its debut at the Cherry Blossom Disco this weekend and I am already so impressed. You have seen met its twin around town for years. I first drank ‘Dreamy Clouds’ nigori at Myers and Chang a long time before I started working in restaurants. It was my favorite pairing with their wok charred, spicy foods as a cool, calm and texturally creamy beverage companion.
In January of this year, visiting Rihaku in Matsue City was a highlight of the trip. This is the birthplace of Dreamy Clouds and frankly, we were greeted with dreamy cloudy weather. The brewer even made a joke that the women in Matsue City have the best skin in all of Japan, because the sky is always full of dreamy clouds.
It was rainy when we arrived in Matsue City… magic mist, twinkling rain and petrichor in the air (also a scent of the new namazake) and looked like a movie set. We had just arrived from Tottori and eager to finally visit the home of our friend, Yuichiro Tanaka.
Over 100+ of you first met Tanaka San at our Brewer Party in the Summer of 2023 where he signed your sake bottles, shook your hands and poured you his whole line up on our sunny patio. Please note: patio season begins May 1st at the club.
The incredibly thoughtful agenda for our day in Matsue City…
(we were even given a map illustrated by hand of our adventures)
…carefully choosing strawberry daifuku, a ripe juicy strawberry wrapped with sweet red bean and blanketed with soft mochi, and other handmade little treats for an afternoon tea ceremony from a local shop
…a magical boat ride with heated kotatsu through the moat of Matsue Castle. Bookmark “Horikawa Pleasure Boat” if you are traveling to Shimane anytime soon. The boatmen burn charcoal briquettes and place them under heated tables with blankets to keep passengers warm during the 50-minute long tours that take you under 17 different bridges throughout the city. Some of these bridges are very low, so the boats are designed in such a way that they can lower their roofs to pass under them.
…lunch on Lake Shinji including the best Ochazuke I’ve ever had and a stunning view
…a comprehensive brewery tour by Toki the dog (just kidding Tanaka San gave us the very detailed tour)
… a tour of Kanemori soy sauce brewery, a neighboring (incredibly good) soy sauce producer a short walk from the sake brewery
…a tea ceremony led by Yuichiro’s family
…a shopping trip for Japanese knives
…dinner with the entire Tanaka family (sweetest kiddos included) at an impeccable oden restaurant (that we are gatekeeping) complete with our first taste of Rihaku Nigori Namazake, a competition of who could do the splits and endless selfies
…a dip in the hotel’s sento (because the club’s “onsen winter” theme is a lifestyle)
We were given the most special and personal grand tour of Matsue City, Yuichiro Tanaka’s home, family life and most delicious spots to eat to help fully understand how great the sake is, what it pairs well with and how best to share it with you. Please join us on Saturday, April 6, 2024 to hear more about our adventure and drink along with each story.
Love,
Alyssa