Sake, Soju, Plum Wine

Winemaker Description 

Lively aromas and flavors of melon, Asian pear, white flowers and candy nougat with balanced acidity. A light to-medium body with a touch of honey sweetness and crisp jicama in the finish. 

Winemaker Description

Enjoy the flowery and expertly-balanced Dassai 39 Junmai Daiginjo's pleasant and addictive notes of ripe pineapples, mangoes, apples and pears.

Winemaker Description 

The rice used in Dassai 45 sake is milled down to 45% of its original size. Dassai 45 is elegant and fresh. Dassai 45 shows a slight sweetness with very floral aromas. The palate is medium bodied with perfect balance of nuttiness and candy with a hint of honeydew.

Winemaker Description 

The meaning of “JUNMAI” represents the sake that is made with “Rice” and “Water”. Junmai is one of the popular categories of all time. It is the standard style sake with tasty steam rice notes and umami.

It compliments well with any type of food. This Junmai is great at room temparature or even chilled, however warming it slightly will definitely bring out the best quality of this kind; the mellowness and richness.

Kikusui Junmai uses the 100% Japanese Rice from Niigata. Niigata Prefecture is best known to produce World Class quality rice in Japan.

Carrying 130 years’ worth of history on their shoulders, the Kikusui Sake Company is a brewery that fought to survive - and which ultimately flourished - in Niigata Prefecture. The name "Kikusui" is a reference to a Noh theatre play, wherein eternal life could be gained by drinking the dew (Sui) from the petals of chrysanthemums (Kiku) growing in secret pools on a mountain peak.

In 2004 they established the Kikusui Sake Research Institute in an effort to both raise the bar on the quality of their offerings and wrestle with concepts such as enjoyment of sake, and sake culture itself. 

Producer Description 

Like other sake in the Hakurakusei line, this sake is brewed to be supremely food friendly. With an aroma that whispers of banana and a zippy, citrus-like acidity, this junmai ginjo can bolster savory cuisine or walk hand-in-hand with sweeter foods such as Japanese “nimono” dishes.

 It’s produced using a little known rice variety, Miyagi prefecture’s Kura no Hana sake rice, that’s been milled to 55%. Serve chilled.

Winemaker Description 

Kurosawa Brewery has been making sake with traditional methods in the mountains of Nagano Prefecture since 1858. Creamy textured sake, with fruity notes of pineapple and lychee. 

Nigori or "cloudy" sake leaves in some of the rice solids to give sake sweetness and texture. Delicious on its own, but pairs well with spicy Chinese or Thai dishes. Serve chilled. 

Winemaker Description

Dassai "23" is the sake that defines Dassai. It is made with rice that has been milled so that only 23% of the original size of the grains remains, this is the highest degree of milling of any sake in the world. Going to this extreme allows us to create a sake like no other, a sake that is the pinnacle of refined elegance, subtlety, and delicate flavors and aromas.

To craft the ultimate Junmai-Daiginjo sake, we polished down Yamada-Nishiki rice to 23%. Delivering delicate floral aromas with a palate reminiscent of honey and an elegant lasting finish. We will be donating a portion of the sales of the Dassai Beyond and Dassai 23 series to medical professionals. Winemaker Description. 

Winemaker Description

The most traditional style sake. Perfect pair with Mildly seasoned dishes. Character: Smooth, well balanced and full body. Dry/Sweet: +3 (medium dry) Texture: hard, crisp Aroma: mild, complex Suggestions: Serving: room temper to warm Pairing food: mildly seasoned Alcohol: 16%

Winemaker Description 

Clear, day-bright nectar with aromas of strawberry, pineapple, and a whisper of anise. Full-bodied, balanced, and fruity with a hint of honey. A silky, luscious texture and a long finish. 

Producer Description 

Dreamlike mist in a glass graced with aromas of white flower, pear, and anise. Silky texture with a citrus fruitiness heightened by a delicate effervescence.

Producer Description 

Chiyonosono's Sacred Power was crafted with Kyushu Shinriki rice (their own house-cultivated variety) and Kumamoto yeast. The Seimaibuai value is 55%, meaning 45% of the grain was polished away. 

This is a rich, mellow, full-flavored sake with aromas of hay, lemongrass and tropical fruits. On the silky palate, those fruits couple with accents of saline and savory umami flavors, finishing with uplifting brightness and acidity. Enjoy with selections from the raw bar, sushi and sautéed greens and veggies.

Winemaker Description 

Made using the Kimoto brewing method, a rare process, Kurosawa Junmai Kimoto sake is approachable with notes of dried pair and coconut custard.  It is medium bodied and dry with fruity undertone that complements it perfectly.  Enjoy cold or warm.

Winemaker Description 

Delicate & refreshingly sweet with flavors of honeydew, lemongrass & peaches. Great with spicy or sweet fare - rolls made with hot peppers or chile oils, or those with fruit - a great finisher - refreshing - not too sweet!

Winemaker Description 

Silky smooth and smartly chic in a chic frosted glass bottle, Kinushiro is a Junmai grade nigori sake with a clean and refreshing aftertaste and a full but elegant character. 

Before bottling, this sake is stored in casks made from high-quality Japanese cedar. The result is a sake with a crisp, dry flavor and the pleasant hint of Japanese cedar.

Winemaker Description 

Made with yeast extracted from the Sanuki olive native to the region, this hyperlocal sake showcases the best of Kagawa in a one-of-a-kind bottling.

Juicy notes of musk melon, white flowers and green pear with hints of starfruit, grass and salinity.

Try with salad with carrot ginger dressing, coconut crab curry or spring pea & mint gazpacho. 

Our Professional Review

A unique expression of sake made with olive yeast.  Beautiful white fruits and floral notes backed by lovely herbal and savory notes.

Winemaker Description 

Miho-san revived Hattanso rice, an extinct heirloom breed from the Akitsu region in Hiroshima, by devoting over 10 years of her life to learning how to grow it and brew with it. One of the few female brewery owners and "Toji" (brewmaster), Miho Imada mills the rice for this sake less than most Junmais because she believes it results in the best expression of rice flavor, balance, and complexity.

An amazing oyster pairing, as Hiroshima has more oyster beds than anywhere else in Japan and influences the sake. Also try it with red curry and ginger steamed clams. 

Our Professional Review

Earthy, bold and zesty with accents of lemon and apricot.

Producer Description 

The brand was named Toyo Bijin, or “Asian Beauty,” by Sumikawa Brewing Company’s founder in honor of his late wife.

This particular brew gives an aroma red apple that fades to an almost nutmeg spice. It is a very dry sake, said to be “strong enough to kill a devil.” Be prepared for this but also enjoy its decent umami retained from the Yamadanishiki rice used in its brewing. 

Producer Description 

This savory sake is inspired by local legends of Niigata's annual fox-bride festival. Local lore tells of mysterious lights that appeared on nearby Mt. Kirin in the distant past, which are claimed to be the lanterns carried in the fox-bride procession. With a 50% polishing rate, this sake could technically qualify as a Junmai Daiginjo, but the savory notes and food pairing versatility identify more with the style expected from Junmai 

Intense aromas of grilled nuts, pistachio, and a hint of white chocolate. Ripe honeydew notes finish crisp with a hint of lingering sweetness.

One of the best meat pairings in the portfolio. Try with duck, fig-stuffed pork loin, or black cod with miso glaze.

Producer Description 

Smooth and earthy, notes of toasted brown rice. Excellent with a range of food from sushi to yakitori and gyoza

Gohyaku Mangoku and Koshi Ibuki rice milled to 58%. Serve chilled or warmed
This is a true gutsy Niigata style sake, smooth and earthy, with notes of toasty brown rice. When chilled it makes a great companion for a sushi platter or gyoza dumplings, but when gently warmed it blossoms into the perfect accompaniment for yakitori, grilled salmon or roasted yellowtail.

A blend of local rice varietals Gohyaku Mangoku and Koshi Ibuki both milled down to 58% then treated with the S-3 yeast to produce a mildly fragrant and clean sake with light earthy qualities. 

Producer Description 

The clear nectar contained in this gorgeous blue bottle will impress upon you a gentle, fruity aroma and a light dry finish.

A charming aspect of Kikusui Junmai Ginjo is that that it draws out the inner flavors of accompanying dishes, however there is no single style of cuisine with which it absolutely must be paired. A fine choice for restaurants and beginners to sake.

Winemaker Description 

Rich, crisp flavor; classic Tamagawa drink in a sense that you never get tired of it. Smokey, toasty, nutty top notes with a zingy, wild berry fruitiness and lots of rice umami.

Simply Happier Hot"— best enjoyed warmed, this is a classic junmai from Kinoshita Brewery. Some of Tango Penninsula's famous crabs are grown just a few steps from Kinoshita Brewery in Mihama Bay. Put "Pairing these crabs with Tamagawa's Tokubetsu Junmai" on your bucket list because they get on like a house on fire. Delicious at room temperature, but first, try it hot!

Founded in 1842, Kinoshita (Tamagawa) Brewery is definitely a brewery "doing interesting things" today. Kinoshita views each bottle as a work in progress. Time is the last ingredient they add to their sakes: each sake they produce is showcased in their newborn form as unpasteurized, unfiltered, undiluted (“3U”) limited editions, shipped throughout the winter brewing season as soon as they are pressed. From this starting point, they make a wide range of product styles which highlight the huge potential of sake, with time as a crucial ingredient.

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Tokubetsu Junmai
ABV
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17%
Volume
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720ml
Style
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Rich & Dry
SMV
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+4.4
Acidity
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2.2
Rice Varietal
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Gohyakumangoku
Polishing
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Winemaker Description 

Kamoizumi balances sweetness, acidity, astringency and the savory sake flavors like no other. The style exemplifies the elusive flavor "umami" perfectly. This is a new level of sake production. Very few have achieved the heights of complexity offered by this unpasteurized, undiluted and aged sake. After 2 years at 5° Centigrade it developes rich, layered savory character without loosing a sense of freshness. This sake is designed to be aged further in a cold cellar or wine fridge. Enjoy cold, at room temperature or over a single ice cube.

The Maegaki family started out as rice farmers who became landlords eventually sake brewing at the onset of the modern era in 1910. In 1965, Kamoizumi became one of a pioneering group of ten breweries who committed to junmai sake production at a time when heavy-handedly adding brewers alcohol to maximize profits was typical.

Kamoizumi released their first Junmai in 1971 and few have taken a bolder standing on developing a true house style than them. Their sake has an attitude: bold and full-flavored, yet with drinkability that are the hallmarks of technical mastery. Many of Kamoizumi's sakes are aged and final blending is done with great care. The Kamoizumi sakes pairs well with meat dishes and full flavored cuisine.

Winemaker Description 

Golden yellow. Honey on the nose. Sweet honey, almond and stoney fruit flavors with nice acidity. On the rocks, with club soda, gin or in your favorite tea. 

Winemaker Description 

Kurokame Is A Surprising Imo Shochu Made With 'Purple' Satsuma Sweet Potatoes. These Potatoes Have A Robust Reddish Purple Skin, But Are A Pale Yellow Inside. It Is Distilled Traditionally In Earthen Pots (Kame) Using Black Koji (Kuro Koji). Thus The Name, Kurokame ? 

Or Black Stone Pot.

Kurokame Has A Surprisingly Neutral Nose. Imos Tend To Smell Like Fresh Dirt In A Good Way. This Imo Smells More Subtle. Almost A Roasted Essence. The Initial Palate Is Spicy With A Rich Sweetness. And Then The Roast Hits. A Roasted Wheat Flavor. The Roast Holds Along With A Hint Of Sweet Spiciness Throughout the Finish.

Winemaker Description 

Damso Strawberry Soju is sweet and flavorful, with a unique strawberry taste that everyone can enjoy. 

Producer Description 

Junmai Ginjo (at least 40% of rice grain polished away). This vibrant showstopper is beautifully soft and feminine, brewed by one of Japan's only female brewery owners and tojis. Brewed in Hiroshima, the birthplace of Ginjo sake, which is known for remarkably soft water that requires expert skill to use in sake production. Once mastered, it enables a highly controlled, precise fermentation, resulting in vibrant fruit aromas. This Junmai Ginjo is bottled immediately without charcoal filtering.

A fruity nose of lime and melon with bold hints of fennel, white pepper and allspice. The flavors gravitate to ripe cantaloupe and anise while the minerality from the soft water is evident in the finish.

A natural match for sweet, succulent shellfish like lobster and scallops, but surprising pairings like bittersweet chocolate work, too.

Producer Description 

Crafted from the finest sun ripened ume from Wakayama, this sake based umeshu is bursting from the glass with ripe ume flavors, bright acidity, and a refreshing sweetness.

Winemaker Description 

Delicate and nuanced, this autumnal release from Kozaemon sees a period of aging over summer before its release, yielding a sake with subtle maturity and refinement. A natural pairing for all specialties of autumn like squash and slow braised meat.

Producer Description 

Winemaker Description 

All Uka sake uses Koda Farms® Heirloom Organic Kokuho Rose® KR55 rice and the soft water from Mount Adatara. Furthermore, Uka “Dry” uses Fukushima’s first prefectural yeast, Utsukushima Yume Yeast, known to produce sake with less acidity, and aromas of banana and melon. The interplay of fruity on the nose and dry on the palate is achieved by careful handling and skillful expertise. 

Winemaker Description 

This gentle Yuzushu from Kochi Prefecture offers a splendid nose of lemon peel, honey, fresh lemonade, elderflower, and sugar aromas, capturing an elegant and refined essence.

Producer Description 

This sake is a reflection of the brewery's director Masahiko Touda, who dubs himself a fungi maniac. His goal was to brew a sake that would pair with mushrooms. Notes of dried apricot, orange rind, and sweet miso enhances the earthy, deep flavors in the Kinoko Parcel.

We enjoy this sake at room temperature in a wine glass to enjoy its fruitier aromas, and warm in a guinomi to take in the more savory flavors. Touda-san hunts for mushrooms all year, exclaiming, “In Japan, mushrooms can be found throughout the year and are part of our nature and life. May the Fungi be with you!"