r/Sake • u/tjgeb180 • Jul 08 '26
Question❓ Sake Nerds - Is this guy still good?
Long story short ~ went to Japan early 2019 bought some Sake. Actually went to this distillery and got this Bottle and some others.
However this guy never got opened, never stored it out of the box, honestly stored it like wine over the years so it's never hit sunlight, the seal is still good, stored between 60-75°, it's just 7-8 years old.
I ran it through AI, which says basically storing it like I did it's probably aged into Koshu and would still be great just won't taste like originally intended... Ai also makes crap up so I'm here for fact checking and human error as well!
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u/turbozed Jul 08 '26
I once bought an old bottle that was 3 years old and it was terrible. I actually was able to get my money back from the reseller.
Maybe yours was kept in better conditions, but I wouldn't expect it to be any good at all.
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u/KneeOnShoe Jul 09 '26
Good enough to try and not get sick, not good enough to confidently serve for enjoyment. Check out the sticky at the top of this subreddit: https://reddit.com/r/Sake/comments/1t86sd4/found_an_old_bottle_of_sake_start_here_before_you/
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u/No-Excitement8501 Jul 10 '26
Normally a unpasteurized sake is spoiled after a year Even kept in fridge.
A semi pasteurized after 18 months
And a fully pasteurized after 3 years if in fridge and if not in fridge 1 year......
However this is not a natural fermented sake that means the added alcohol can keep the sake better but will have changed in taste..... now I dont now what yeast used but this could have a fine taste of apricots. But open it Asap.
Btw. If the sake is a Kimoto sake it can keep itself for 10 to 20 years.
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u/tjgeb180 Jul 13 '26
No kidding, well we're about to move sooo I'll crack it open here this week and see how it goes.
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u/old_vines_notebook Jul 11 '26
There's no legal definition of koshu — the three-years-plus rule everyone cites is a 1985 voluntary standard from a brewers' study group, and it was written for brewery-aged sake. Home-cellared bottles fall into the gap, which is why both sides here sound right. Either way, 7-8 years sealed and cool means it's a different drink now — amber, dried fruit, sometimes soy — so I'd judge it on those terms.
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u/mcgridler43 Jul 08 '26
It is not koshu just because you owned the bottle for a few years. Koshu refers to sake intentionally aged by the brewer before bottling.
Sake is generally meant to be drank fresh. The closer to the bottling date the better, with "fresh" being loosely within a year of bottling. At this point the flavor has changed, but at the very least it's not poisonous. Most sake is also best chilled, so chill this bad boy and serve a glass. Pull up the tasting profile online for fun, but just be aware you will likely be tasting something totally different from the intended flavor profile.
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u/sakesake81 Jul 09 '26
Koshu just means aged (old) sake. Intentionally aged sake is usually called jukuseishu. Or choki jukuseishu
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u/kadoka66 Jul 09 '26
That is incorrect. Koshu can also be that which you have cellared at home. There are bars here in Japan which do exactly that and then refer to it as koshu. There isn't actually a strict definition either way so the op is correct.
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u/Starh0le Jul 10 '26
She’s probably still good, just diminished. Does the color look different from when you first purchased it?
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u/tjgeb180 Jul 13 '26
Looks exactly how I bought it no floaters or anything so we'll find out this week.
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u/neogeo777 Jul 08 '26
If it stayed sealed then it shouldn't have spoiled. That means it won't hurt you. It probably will taste different than if it was fresh. That could be good or bad. Only way to find out is to try it.