Bright and refreshing, this sake is the perfect choice for daytime drinking and is the brewery employees’ drink of choice. The juniper botanicals and cucumber notes make it the perfect gin lover’s sake. It is named after the brewery founder who fought many battles near the ruins of Takatenjin Castle. It is very close to being a Ginjo but reined in by flavors and aromas to allow more easy drinking.

Dreamy Clouds is quite special because its milling rate of 59% technically qualifies it as Junmai Ginjo grade – a rare quality level for a nigori (cloudy) sake. It presents an opportunity to move Nigori drinkers forward to new styles of sake.

Brewed with a newly developed rice called Kan no Mai that withstands cold climates and is full of smoky, saline rice flavors. The rice name is a word made of the Japanese characters “Kan,” translated to “God,” and “Mai,” meaning dance or stage. The specific milling rate of 68% employed in this sake results in a one-of-a-kind flavor profile.

Aged in tank for 3 years, this umami-rich sake finishes dry and clean from precise fermentation and water minerality. This unusual juxtaposition makes it stand out as a savory sake that will not weigh you down. Star-Filled Sky is brewed in Japan’s least populated prefecture where there is an abundance of natural elements available. This isolation leads to nights with complete darkness, where the stars are in full view.

This sake is a true expression of Fukui, using local yeast, bottled from a single tank, and highlights the pristine, nationally famous water source.

Brewed in the same way with the same ingredients as Pearls of Simplicity but with a touch of distilled alcohol to open up aromatics and lighten the overall impact. Konteki means “dew drops of the earth” while Higashiyama (the brewery name) translates to “eastern hill.“ Brewery workers have been known to start their days watching the sun rise over the mountains until the dew drops glisten as if they were the Tears of Dawn.

The epitome of purity, this sake is more subtle and nuanced than most highly aromatic Junmai Daiginjos. It is based on the ideals of Zen Buddhism and “wabi-sabi,” the belief that beauty within the arts should be as understated and pure as a simple strand of pearls. One of two sakes brewed in exactly the same way with the same ingredients, except this one is a Junmai Daignjo and Tears of Dawn has added distilled alcohol to open up aromatics.

Kojima Sohonten utilizes their 24 generations of sake making to reintroduce an ancient way of production, sashikomi, to produce a sake that is at once modern and rooted in tradition. This “four-step” brewing method, along with the addition of kijoshu and finishing in cedar, results in a sake that has remarkable intensity and concentration for being only 13% alcohol. Truly the first of its kind, this product challenges preconceived notions of what defines quality when it comes to sake.

Kawatsuru translates to “river crane” and comes from the sighting of a crane in the river behind the brewery. Crane of Paradise is described as “umakuchi,” a combination between sweet, dry and umami flavors. The perfect summertime sip!

The intense complexity of this sake is achieved through an abundance of koji, yamahai, no dilution, and over ten years of careful aging.

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 Ginjo.

Flawless yet incredibly persistent. The purity of the region of Yamagata shines in this sake, with the crispness of their pristine water, the grassy, spicy quality of dewasansan rice, and the opulent textures derived from shizuku free run finishing.

Sparkling sake made through secondary fermentation in bottle. Toji Miho Imada uses a little white koji in this sake, resulting in citrus notes and refreshing finish.

The limestone covered mountains nearby give this sake a rich mineral driven structure packed with tension and pronounced acidity. A timeless style of sake that old-world wine drinkers easily gravitate to.

This undiluted brew is fit for a cowboy – made in the ancient Yamahai style, loaded with umami, and pairs beautifully with meat.

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.

Miho-san revived Hattanso rice, an extinct heirloom breed, by devoting over 10 years of her life to learning how to grow it and brew with it. Female brewery owner and Toji, 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.

This cloudy “nigori” sake will transport you to Osaka and the Daimon brewery where they have been crafting fresh, lively sake for six generations.

Daimon brewery is one of very few sake breweries located in Osaka and produces sake that truly captures the spirit of the prefecture – a vibrant region that is culturally rich, colorful and known as the street food capital of Japan. Brewery president and toji, Yasutaka Daimon, is a 6^th generation brewer that is also a jazz musician. Daimon-san often listens to jazz while making sake, believing that both jazz and sake go together hand in hand. Daimon is a globally minded brewery and world famous for their global sake internships along with creating the Sake Export Association to expand sake outside of Japan.

With broad appeal and a memorable, sturdy flavor, this sake has the ability to complement even the most wine-unfriendly vegetables. This Junmai Ginjo is made with Yamada Nishiki rice, known as the pinnacle of quality for sake rice. It is named after the famous Chinese poet, Li Po, who was said to drink a bottle of sake and write one hundred poems.

A commitment from the brewery to make premium sake despite agricultural hardships like those of WWII. Until this sake came along in the 1960’s, all sake had distilled alcohol added to it due to rice shortages and war rationing. After the war, Chiyonosono crafted the first junmai sake (brewed without distilled alcohol nor additives of any kind) and celebrated by sharing it from a large, red lacquered sake cup called a Shuhai.