Mmmm. Fish flavored liquors! Found this one in a konbini in Kofu and, well... just had to try it. In my first travels to Japan, I bought fugu fin flavored sake. It tasted exactly how one would expect dried fish fins soaked in booze would. And to top it off, it left my mouth raw with whatever that active ingredient is in fugu that Japanese daredevil gourmets love. Being a bit of a slow learner, I could not resist this little one cup of ika sake (いか酒). The beautifully illustrated little squid phallus was calling my name. And of course, it tasted exactly how one would expect - like dried squid soaked in booze. The Takara sake company, a 150 year old liquor manufacturer dreamed this one up, ostensibly creating a Hokkaido style winter warmer that would surely take Japan by storm. I'd suggest buying a bag of dried squid and having plain old sake on the side. However, I found another product out there - sake bottled in sun-dried squid skin containers. After you drink the sake, you can eat the container. Apparently they tried this at tourist spots in Iwate Prefecture about 40 years ago. It really didn't go over that well. But slow learners all, the Kimura Shoten store has decided to revive the "tradition" and try selling them again. Kimura Shoten is the place that also makes fish-flavored ice creams. Need I say more.
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