Ginger Cat 3

Okada-kun's cat series, which we make every year, is back again. After plain ginger, and ginger with bushukan citrus, this year it’s red shiso. It’s super summery🔺

The color is just so beautiful that I seriously debated using a clear bottle, but I realized I didn't have any, so I'm bottling it in black glass after all.
It’s got plenty of real ginger this year. While we were fermenting it, Okada-kun kept muttering "It's extreme" and "It's extremely spicy," so I was a little worried, but as expected, he managed to land it in a place where you can really taste the ginger🐈️

For the red shiso, we asked the farmers how to make the juice, followed their instructions, and then mixed it with honey and ginger to ferment. The aroma of the red shiso comes through gradually, and I think many people will find it nostalgic.

It’s perfect for summer. A mead cocktail mixed in a ratio of 1 part watermelon mead to 3 parts ginger mead is also quite good. Give it a try🍸️

〈Kochi to Yasu〉

Just as Yusuke went to his hometown of Kumamoto to get watermelons, I went to Shikoku—which is very much like a second home to Okada-kun—to get ginger. This is our third year doing so. I came back with wonderful photos and ginger.

"This year, I want to properly bring out the character of the ginger."

With that thought in mind, we made it properly spicy. We used it in a way that practically screams, "This is fresh ginger!", yet it finished beautifully as a liquid. This is our way of expressing ourselves as we strive to become a new light for Japanese farmers.

〈Tasting Note〉
8% ABV, a dry mouthfeel with a touch of acidity. It evokes what old-fashioned ginger ale might have tasted like. The slightly grassy aroma of fresh ginger blends beautifully with the plum-like nuances of the red shiso. Why not try an Asian summer style, served in a champagne glass with a single ice cube?🎐

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Style: Methegrin / Spice and Herb Mead
ABV: 8%
Carbonation: Yes
Volume: 500ml
Ingredients: Honey (sunflower from Myanmar), ginger, red shiso, lemon
Sweetness (10-point scale): 3 (Semi-Dry)
Serving temperature: Chilled well (4-8℃)
Pairing: Somen noodles, pork shabu-shabu, fried white fish (with tartar sauce), mapo tofu

〈Mead making〉
First, we steeped the red shiso in hot water to make juice. The juice smelled so much like "Yukari" furikake that there's really nothing else to say about it. We mixed plenty of ginger and honey into that and main-fermented it. We added lemon at the finish to provide a touch of acidity and a beautiful color.

〈Naming〉
It's the third installment of the Ginger Cat series, so Ginger Cat 3.
The label features a feisty cat as the main character, reflecting the nice, spicy ginger inside. It’s a cute label that makes you wonder if the tough-looking cat might actually have a delicate side, or maybe not.