We’ve been watching the momentum of single-serving (“one-cup”) sake formats in America for some time now, occasionally commenting on it in the magazine and in our social media. We’ve always thought these had a lot of promise and now it seems they’ve crossed the chasm and are gaining significant uptake among consumers. One candidate for success in this space that we’ve recently encountered is Snow Angel (Yuki no Tenshi).
A nigori sake that comes in an urn-like bottle, unlike the typical cylindrical ones, Snow Angel is a private label brand imported by Oka Imports in Sausalito, California, and distributed nationally–a lot of websites are mistakenly referring to it as having been brewed by “Oka Brewery”. We’ve gleaned that the actual brewery is a major producer in Hyogo, one of the meccas of sake producing in Japan, though its identity is kept a secret. There’s nothing shady about this; some breweries producing private-label brands simply want to avoid confusion with their own brands, as the former are often bespoke creations that may fall outside the brewery’s typical style or identity. Others simply want to stay selective about whom they work with. Snow Angel, with its aforementioned national distribution and rather good placement through carefully curated distributors, looks like a strong partnership.
The sake has also been well cared-for. The sample we drank was fresh–or, we might say, quite refreshing with a lot of character. Admittedly, we don’t clamor for nigori sake, despite the popularity of the style in America. Nigori often lack subtlety and taste one-dimensional (perhaps a reason why they only account for a very small percentage of the market, unlike America, where the opposite is true). Snow Angel has decent aromatics with notes of melon, a lighter body as far as nigori sake goes, and mild sweetness. At 12.5abv, it’s on the lighter end of sake, too. In a 180ml bottle, that’s an easy-to-drink serving.
Drink it cold, for sure. We drank it as is, though it lends itself to an array of pairings because of its expressive nature. Its texture could stand up to something equally textured, like chili, while its smoothness is reminiscent of creamy soups. It would make a nice choice in a cooler of drinks at a barbecue… maybe something to sip post-meal when your palate has had an adventure already.
Cost? Snow Angel probably retails in the $6 range per bottle–maybe higher at some big city retailers. Shake it up before you drink it, of course, and maybe keep the bottle as a cute vase for the flowers you picked on your picnic or hike.
