The Sake Shop in Honolulu

Recently, we went "home" to celebrate my mother's 94th birthday. On the first day of our arrival, the flight was such that we were just in time for dinner. My brother and sister-in-law treated us to two beautiful platters of sushi and my brother shared with us a Kubota Junmai Daiginjo sake which he received for Christmas from our cousin. Nothing goes better with sushi than sake and it was such a nice way to spend the first evening with family.
My husband spent a few days researching where we could purchase sake to bring back with us. He located two highly recommended sake shops and on one of our last days in Hawaii, we went to a highly recommended sake purveyor called The Sake Shop on Oahu. After a bit of meandering due to construction, we were able to find The Sake Shop from the mauka entrance to Cooke Street. There we found Nadine who was so knowledgeable and helpful in navigating the immense inventory of sake that was in the store. We were a little familiar with the level of polishing of rice and how sake is made, but ignorant of the variety of sake styles that are available. As Nadine explained to us how the various sakes are classified, we found that it was as complicated as wine and she agreed.
Sake is such a complex topic that I want to dedicate at least one blog to it. There was a laminated card, Sake 101 that summarized the various types of sake which I reproduce here:

Style	Description
Daiginjo	Daiginjo ranks as the highest grade of sake. This style of sake is made with rice where 50% or more of the outer layer of rice kernel is polished away and fermented at low temperature. Daiginjo has a pleasant fruity aroma and still retains its fragrant aroma in your mouth.
Ginjo	Ginjo ranks high among Junmai. This style of sake is made with rice where 40% or more of the outer layer of rice kernel is polished away and fermented at low temperature. It's aroma is of fruits or flowers and is slightly rich and robust with a smooth, light, and fruity taste.
Junmai	This style of sake is made from ONLY rice, koji (rice mold) and water. This sake is made with polished outer layer of rice kernel. (Not Specified Polishing Rate Regulation) Junmai has its own unique character and it can be served with a variety of foods.
Honjozo	Honjozo is sake made from rice, koji (rice mold), brewing alcohol and water. This style of sake is made with rice where 30% or more of the outer layer of rice kernel is polished away. It is known for its mild, unobstrusive bouquet and crisp flavor.
Nigori	Nigori is sake that is milky white since the mash is only lightly filtered using a coarse-texted cloth or is left unfiltered.

The Sake Shop also had this concise and beautifully illustrated pictoral representation of sake:

We left The Sake Shop with 4 different styles of sake which we brought home with us. I will share our tasting notes with you in upcoming blogs. Come on a journey of sake discovery!