Yuki Otoko Honjozo "Yeti"

Aoki Shuzo, makers of Kakurei, designed "Yuki Otoko" to be their super-dry brand of sake. For a while, it was so popular in Japan that the annual production sold out too quickly to export! They’ve since scaled up, so it comes to the US in limited amounts. Yuki Otoko Honjozo is the lighter cousin of Y.O. junma: iboth in terms of $$ ($5 less!), and style. If Junmai is the one submerging its giant yeti-feet into the crunching snow, Honjozo is the one dancing on the snow so lightly that it doesn't fall through.  The palate is super fresh and clean, with a crisp edge like sparkling mineral water.  Unlike some honjozo that unwrap into layers on the palate, here we stay clean and forward: delicate notes of white rice, poached pear, chestnut, but it really feels like the aruten aspect brings the crystal-clear water into focus. Lovely balance. In an interview, I once read something to the effect of: subtlety in sake is more difficult to achieve than loud expression. Turning the volume down wh