Houreki

This is a Junmai Daiginjo which has been acquired by way of a natural trickle process without pressing and brewing, according to the traditional Kimoto method. The intention is for this drink to be served cold. This carefully ripened sake has slightly sour accents and can take pride in an exquisite, fruity aroma. The drink is praised as a result of its extraordinarily well balanced body and richness. Only a limited number of bottles of this exclusive sake are produced every year.

This is the only Kimoto Junmai sake which has won the Golden Medal in the national competition of the Brewing Society of Japan.

The name 'Houreki' is derived from the name of the period within which the Daishichi Sake Brewery was founded (1752).

How it should be served

Houreki should be served at 10-13 ˚C. It is best served as an aperitif or an after dinner drink. However, it is also very suitable to be enjoyed with dishes with a restrained taste.

Natural trickle process (‘unpressed’): with normal sake the Moromi, the sake brew, is pressed in order to remove the remnants of the rice, but with this top sake it was opted to go for the lengthy, but taste enhancing, process of placing the Moromi in bags, which are subsequently suspended in tanks and then left to trickle out under their own weight.

Undiluted: normally water would be added to the sake after pressing in order to reduce the alcohol percentage. This doesn’t happen here.

Kimoto: the traditional but very laborious method of producing the yeast starter. This unique method means no lactic acid bacteria are added from the outside in order to protect the yeast during the preparation phase, but these are naturally acquired by crushing the rice with long sticks.