When I first heard about the Hana Fuji apple sake I admit I was a bit suspicious since I had a strong preference for flavorless Japanese sake, but our team at Oriental Sake encouraged me that I have to give it a shot. I jumped on the Takara Sake website to make an order and Immediately what caught my eye was that they offer a guided Zoom tasting experience, something very unique I haven’t seen in other sake shops so far.
However, I have decided to order a bottle to share with friends at a casual sake party, therefore I had to skip that offer. Still, a really cool thing experience that I would like to try someday.
That being said, the bottle arrived fairly quickly after 3 days of ordering and was packaged nicely. The bottle itself looked fairly minimalistic but in a way that was inviting to open it up.
So before I jump into my experience with Hana Fuji Apple Sake, let’s have a quick overview of what this specific sake is all about
Hana Fuji Apple Sake – Overview
The Hana apple sake is a flavored sake that uses the delicious fuji apple that originates from Japan. The sake is distributed by Takara Sake USA and is kosher-certified and gluten-free.
Being a dessert sake, it has a relatively low alcohol content of 8%. Its price tag as of October 2022 is 13.75 USD.
My Experience
Our sake party started and I brought out the bottle to the table, everyone was curious to try it for the first time. We opened the bottle and boom – a ripe fuji apple appealing aroma filled the room and got everyone hyped up.
We have served the sake chilled, as we felt it would be more refreshing and generally it is my personal preference when it comes to flavored sake. I definitely felt the excitement in the air, so in a moment of silence, everyone took a slight sip. And immediately I realized I was wrong with my prejudice towards flavored sakes.
the rich apple flavor combined with the slight crisp tartness was the first thing I noticed. Even though it is fairly sweet, It was easy to drink since it is low in alcohol. The best thing about it is that it is a great pairing with almost every party snack, whether it is a savory dish (can be used as a sweet and silky palate cleanser) or a mildly sweet dessert such as white chocolate or a sponge cake paired with whipped cream.
The highly aromatic sake bottle was so addictive that it was empty in about 15 minutes.
Bottom Line
Hana Fuji Apple Sake is a versatile dessert flavored sake. It is easy to drink, refreshing, and complements well many food pairings. It is amongst my personal favorite flavored sakes and I have no doubt that I would get it again!
To learn more about this unique sake go ahead and check out to full sake description at: https://www.takarasake.com/products/flavored-sake/hana-fuji-apple
