Yamaroku Authentic 4 Year Barrel Aged Premium Japanese Soy Sauce - Shoyu Tsuru Bisiho, Traditional Fermented for Sushi & Cooking, 5 Oz Glass Bottle

I am no pro on soy sauce. thought kikko was the good stuff. was better than la choy and whatever the free caramel colored salt packet take out gives you and get tossed in trash (blecch! though the 20 year old will eat it...but the boy loves ANY salt sooo)welp i am old and don't have sense of smell/ taste i used to. still I think I can differentiate fairly ok still.wanted to have a special night with the wife. do it up right, get the best I could for a sushi night where get the good stuff...just not the insane level prices. so bought the nori, the good gold rice, rice vinegar, sweet pickled ginger, a really cool sushi maker set, good sesame oil and toasted seeds oh and good washabi paste. did a lot of research read tons of reviews watched videos learned the tips oh even got a excellent rice washer so your rice comes out looking like diamonds if its cooked correctly.was first time trying to do this.i have been to japan and the food was out of this world if you ever ate traditional stuff. still I have no clue what soy sauce they served.In all the research I found a guy on you tube who reviewed like 5 or more soy sauces one go don't remember who though, maybe had wife helping him (cant remember if he was blind folded).I think the bang for the buck since you can probably spend 50 -1000 for some totally insane or actual rich people stuff. so at 25 bucks or so... welp figured it is a once in a lifetime thing try out, might as well experience it.so wife who is generally oblivious could taste it and son loved it ..though hes used to going to better places as well as junk with his buddies.as for me.YES there is NO comparison!!! YES it WAS worth it!!!!It is deep dark thick...SECOND TIME is when son got to taste it ... but i put kikko in one cool Japanese dipping bowl and the insanely good stuff in the other as the kit came with two bowls shaped like leafs.GUESS which one had almost all the sauce left??? yep the kikoman...just tastes like salt.the old man barely got to get some of the crazy elixir! that's alright I hoarded some still in the bottle for myself... ;)it is deep rich aroma and flavor...not tangy like miso if i recall but that soy deepness.ONLY thing BAD ... is NOW I don't want any other soy sauce lol..it ruined me. sadly the bottle of watery salt kikko sits full in fridge mocking me and I sadly dab it on stuff ...meh.So if you think you have taste and sense of smell to notice ...YES it is definitely worth it.there is nothing wrong if you don't. Plenty people just shrug and eat anything because they don't care or can not taste the difference in various foods. so don't order if that's your case.It is in no way a placebo effect.The stuff is a great soy sauce and gives me a feeling of being in japan and its unparalleled tastes.its like balsamic vinaigrette...the real stuff again thick and deep vs sour sugar water cheap stuff. There is a reason why napoleon era guys would raid for casks of that! lolI got mine in end of march 2023. it comes in a little very thick glass bottle was wrapped in bubble wrap.the pour top would be nice if it was easier to control..(its not as bad some those kiko dispensers) the snap closable spout is stout and made to POUR it out. so OK to put in a dip bowl, directly dribbling onto food better be careful lol unless your budget is good...that stuff is black gold in taste and matching in price.final notes of advice I would add:is if your making a dish where you can actually taste it and you dribble at end.Like ill put it on pork after its basically done.use decent quality ingredients or the sauce is likely wasted.REMEMBER this isn't for cooking really, if your just trying to give some dish some slightly exotic salt flavor or your not rich just use kiko level stuff. like why crack a 300 buck bottle of Champaign to use as cooking wine.welp hope this helps someone!If people got suggestions on a on par sauce that's cheaper OR better one for same I would love to see people name them.not reviewers that just say 'egh i've tasted better" if you cant name it so we can see what you like or compare it to...then the review is useless.cheers everyone! good eating and live a little!