Toronto Guide: Izumi Sake Tasting

Address | 51 Gristmill Lane, Toronto, ON M5A 3C4, Canada

One of our favorite experiences while in Toronto was a Sake Tasting at Izumi in the Distillery District.  It was a rainy day and we were sans umbrella.  Fortunately, the Distillery District is a great pedestrian center with boutique shops, restaurants, and pubs.  This made ducking in and out of the rain from one experience to the next uncomplicated and not too wet. When we entered Ontario Spring Water Sake Company, we learned that it is the first sake brewery in North America.  It's unusual to find sake on the East Coast because rice grows out West.  In California for instance there are several sake distilleries but Izumi is the first Sake Distillery I had come across in the North East and so I was not surprised that despite its young age (in operation since 2011) it is the first established.   I was looking forward to our tasting.

The shop is small and includes a narrow hall that explains some of the history and techniques that they use for their sake brewing.  While available in several varieties all Izumi sake is prepared in the Junmai style.  This means that it is brewed using only rice, water, yeast, and koji — there are no other additives, such as sugar or alcohol.  After browsing the information and photos on the wall, we took two seats, tall barstools at the counter. 

We started with the sake flight which we decided to share the three samples between the two of us.  We did this because we wanted to try several varieties.  The sake flight included Nama-Nama, Genshu, and Teion Sakura.  Each of the three had a very clean and smooth taste.  Lynette really enjoyed the Teion Sakura sake because it was floral and fruity.  I liked it too and thought it tasted tropical but my favorite of the flight was the Genshu.  The flavor was rich and stayed with you which I really liked.  Next we shared a couple of glasses.  We tried the Nigori sake.  Nigori means cloudy.  In the upper right hand corner of the image above you can see why this sake is named as such.  It is unfiltered which is what gives it the cloudy, almost milky white, color.  Nigori contains unfermented rice solids that escape into the liquid through mesh with larger openings during the brewing process.  It was a sweet and strong sake, pleasant to drink.  We finished with a glass of Izumi Gold.  This was the favorite of both Lynette and I. It was smooth with a dry finish and very enjoyable to drink.