Kaika Sanomaru: A Tokubetsu Junmai Cup Sake With a Mascot on the Front

There is a cartoon character on this cup.

His name is Sanomaru, and he is the samurai dog mascot of Sano City in Tochigi. He wears a bowl of Sano ramen as a hat, his hair is made of ramen noodles, and his swords are imo-furai, fried sweet potato. Both are Sano specialties.

He won the Yuru-chara Grand Prix in 2013, which in Japan is not a small thing.

The sake inside is a tokubetsu junmai from a brewery that has been working for around 350 years.

Kaika

Kaika has been made in Sano City for roughly three and a half centuries, in a place known for the quality of its water.

The detail that matters most: since 1998 the brewery has produced only tokutei meishoshu, the designated premium classes, meaning junmai, honjozo, ginjo and above. No futsushu, no table sake. Everything they make has to qualify.

That's an unusual commitment, and it's why a cup sake from them isn't the throwaway the format implies.

What's in the Cup

Tokubetsu junmai. Gohyakumangoku rice, milled to 59%, 15% ABV.

Gohyakumangoku is one of the major sake rice varieties, known for producing clean, dry, well-defined sake rather than heavy or fruity ones. At 59% polishing it's well past the junmai minimum, which is what earns the tokubetsu designation.

The result is dry and clean, with the rice character kept clear rather than buried.

Why the Cup Format Isn't a Compromise

Cup sake started as convenience packaging in 1964 and carried a cheap reputation for decades. That's changed. Serious breweries now use the format for real sake, partly because a sealed single serving protects the contents better than a part-finished bottle does.

This is one of the better arguments for that. Same sake, no ceremony, and nothing lost.

Pair It With

It's dry and clean, so it goes almost anywhere. Yakitori, karaage, tebasaki, or a bowl of ramen.

Given what Sanomaru wears on his head, ordering it with ramen feels correct.

Try It at Juraku

Kaika Sanomaru is on the cup sake list at Izakaya Juraku, Lower East Side. Keep the cup if you want it.