2012, or more precisely the 24th Year of the Heisei Era, will come under the Sign of the Dragon/Tatsu/龍!
I’ve always had a special fondness for dragons to the point of using them for my e-mail addresses and passwords (part of)!
Shidaizumi Brewery has a tradition of coming with a honjozo every year with a splendid label for collectors!

Shidaizumi Brewery: Honjozo-Tatsudoshi/龍歳

Rice milled down to 60%
Alcohol: 15~16 degrees
Bottled in December 2011

Clarity: Very clear
Color: Transparent
Aroma: Strong, complex and fruity. Banana, dark chocolate, pears.
Body: Fluid
Taste: Drier attack than expected, very fruity and complex.
Lingers on for a short while with a dry note backed by pleasant alcohol.
Fruity and dry. Complex. Oranges, banana, dark chocolate, macadamia nuts.
Finishes on a dry note with strong hints of nuts and a faint trace of coffee beans.
Varies little with food.
Shows more facets than expected, especially oranges and coffee beans fighting for supremacy as taste lingers away.

Overall: A sake obviously conceived to accompany and enhance food, although its high (extravagant) quality makes it eminently drinkable on its own.
Can be appreciated at room temperature and nurukan/lukewarm.
Tends to surprise with many unexpected facets appearing out of nowhere.
A surely extravagant honjozo!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

With a Glass,
Clumsyfingers by Xethia
Adventures in Bento Making, American Bento, Beanbento, Bento No1, Bento Wo Tsukurimashou, Cooking Cute, Eula, Hapabento , Happy Bento, Jacki’s Bento Blog, Kitchen Cow, Leggo My Obento, Le Petit Journal Bento & CO (French), Lunch In A Box, My Bento Box, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, The Herbed Kitchen, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat; Bento Lunch Blog (German); Adventures In Bento; Anna The Red’s Bento Factory; Cooking Cute; Timeless Gourmet; Bento Bug; Ideal Meal; Bentosaurus; Mr. Foodie (London/UK); Ohayo Bento

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery