Sweet idea

ID10 Japan, who are behind the Kura One range of 180 ml aluminium cans with the branding of the source brewery, have launched a gift box containing three sake and three types of nama chocolate infused with them.

If you’ve somehow avoided the Royce nama choco at Japanese airports, it’s an addictive combination of cream, sugar and chocolate that remains soft at room and cool temperatures. This helps it get around the issue I usually have pairing bean-to-bar chocolate bars with sake, namely that one is a liquid and other a rather dry solid (the article puts the average moisture content of chocolate at 3%).

These chocolates are not only made with cream, but also contain a hefty 15% sake from Nanbu Bijin (tokubetsu junmai), Amabuki (omachi junmai yamahai marigold yeast) or Harushika (junmai cho-karakuchi). The ingredients are listed as milk chocolate, sake, cocoa butter, fresh cream and inverted sugar (compared to Royce’s list of fresh cream, sugar, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, cocoa powder, flavourings and emulsifiers). 

There is also mention of matching the chocolate to the sake, although since no details are given on the chocolate (origin, etc.) I think this is more about about choosing relatively robust sake that can make itself felt through the chocolate flavour and texture. The article suggests them as an ideal Fathers’ Day gift, shipped by the omnipresent chilled delivery services.

Yes, of course I’m looking up recipes to make my own…

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日本酒含有量15%のチョコレート「Sake Fresh Chocolate」とアルミ缶日本酒「KURA ONE®」の詰め合わせボックスが販売中 (Saketimes 28 May 2024, Japanese)

The sake and sake nama choco selection from Kura One/ID10 Japan. (Image from Saketimes article)

Kura One/ID Japan also offered a 21-can box set for Father’s Day 2024, based around six themes:
– sake rice (Gohyakumangoku, Yamada Nishiki, Homare Fuji and Miyama Nishiki Garyubai label junmai ginjō from Miwa Shuzo in Shizuoka;
– genshu (Yukimegami label junmai daiginjō genshu from Kotobuki Toraya in Yamagata, Nanakanba label tokubetsu junmai genshu from Hikami Seishu in Shimane, and Senpuku label junmai daiginjō muroka genshu from Miyake Honten in Hiroshima);
– aroma (ZAO junmai ginjō K from Zao Shuzo in Miyagi, Gohyakumangoku junmai from Chiyomusubi in Tottori, Hyakushun label Mino Nishiki junmai ginjō muroka genshu from Kosaka Shuzo in Gifu);
– flower yeast (Marigold yeast Omachi yamahai junmai, rhododendron yeast Omachi kimoto junmai daiginjō, strawberry yeast junmai ginjō, apple yeast junmai daiginjō, all from from Amabuki in Saga);
– karakuchi/dry sake (Harushika label junmai chō-karakuchi from Imanishi Seibee Shōten in Nara, chō-kara junmai from Yonetsuru in Yamagata, karakuchi junmai from Sachihime in Saga, Junkara label junmai karakurchi from Chiyomusubi in Tottori); and
– “champion sake” (tokubetsu junmai from Nanbu Bijin in Iwate, Ken label junmai ginjō from Katsuyama in Miyagi, and Yamabuki jukusei koshu Gold from Kinmon Akita in Akita).