Taru Sake - The Scent of Sugi

Andy and Jim crack open a barrel of history with this look at a small but cool part of sake culture: tarusake/taruzake. Originally just an accident of logistics, sake stored in sugi wood barrels is now something breweries have to go out of their way to make. Why do they do it? HOW do they do it? Come, listen, and find out.

Vocabulary

• Hadakadaru 裸樽 - a “naked” taru without any wrapping, sometimes with the company logo etc. branded on the side. 

• Hon’nidaru　本荷樽 - a taru wrapped in a woven straw mat that bears decorations and, sometimes, the official brewery logo/sake information, calling back to when sake was shipped to market in these containers. Also called komadaru 菰樽.

• Kagami Biraki　鏡開き - a somewhat ceremonial practice, often seen at large public events, where VIPs use wooden hammers to break open the lid of a sake taru.

• Masu 升 - a box shaped vessel, originally used to measure rice, now sometimes used as a sake drinking vessel. Usually bare wood, but some are lacquered or even made of plastic.

• Sugi 杉 - Cryptomeria japonica, sometimes mistakenly called “Japanese cedar.” A conifer with aromatic wood.

• Taru 樽 - a barrel, in this case a wooden one, used to store liquid.

　

Recommendations:

Andy - Choryo Tarusake

Jim - Kamotsuru Taruzake

Don’t forget to support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/SakeDeepDive 

Also, check out Andy’s new sake tours at: https://www.originsaketours.com/ 

And buy Jim’s book, Discovering Yamaguchi Sake wherever you order your books (print and ebook available)!

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