Brands
Hanasuou
花すおうIt is one of the brands of Takanori Meijo, derived from the flower name "Suou" (Caesalpinia sappan). It is a brand name expressing gorgeouenss, and was one of the product lineups of Takanori Meijo.
Takanori
高徳It was a representative brand bearing the name of the brewery, embodying the philosophy of sake brewing of Takanori Meijo. Sake brewing reflecting the regionality of Kato City was carried out.
Ryuou no Mai
龍王の舞Established in the Heisei era, this brand was named after the dance dedicated to pray for a good harvest at festivals in the Harima region. With a dry and crisp taste, it is designed for exchanging cups at festival banquets and spending a rich time. Developed as Junmai sake, it features a sharp aftertaste while utilizing the umami of rice. Linked with the traditional festival culture of Harima, it is loved as sake that is close to the local food culture.
Manainotsuru
真名井の鶴"Manai" means a clear spring, and it is a brand imagining the scene where a celestial maiden descends to that spring. It features a crisp and light taste and an elegant and mellow mouthfeel. It is a brand inherited for generations, brewed aiming for a sake quality that you will not get tired of even if you drink it every day. By the method of adding alcohol, it achieves a light and smooth mouthfeel, and is designed to be easy to match with a wide range of dishes as a sake during meals.
Hyogo Otokoyama
兵庫男山It is a brand combining "Hyogo" as a representative brand of Hyogo Prefecture and "Otokoyama" representing strength. While inheriting the traditional sake brewing of the Harima region, stable quality is achieved with modern equipment. With a refreshing dry taste, it is designed as a sake specifically for meals that is easy to match with a wide range of dishes.
Kanbei
官兵衛It is a sake named after Kuroda Kanbei, a strategist deeply connected to Himeji, and is a registered trademark. It is developed in the Kanbei series such as "Tokusen Karakuchi Kanbei", "Kanbei Nigori Sake", and "Shiboritate Kanbei". As a brand embodying the history and culture of Himeji, it is also popular among tourists. While based on a dry taste, various product developments are carried out, such as seasonal nigori sake and shiboritate.
Senbazuru
千羽鶴The brand name is based on the auspicious image of a thousand cranes dancing, and it is also popular for celebrations and gifts. It is a brand name that gives an elegant and gorgeous impression, and features a sophisticated taste.
Josei
如星It is a brand aiming to be a shining existence like a star, pursuing high-quality taste. It features a sophisticated sake quality utilizing the technical capabilities of Meijo Sake Brewery.
Kakushizake
隠し酒With the concept of a hidden gem, it is developed as a brand known to those in the know. It is a specialty item sticking to special sake quality and manufacturing methods.
Meijo
名城It is a representative brand bearing the name of the brewery, a name symbolizing Himeji Castle. Inheriting the tradition of sake brewing in the Banshu region, it is a standard sake that balances stable quality and reasonable price.
Ebira
箙"Ebira" is a tool for carrying arrows on the back, and is a rare brand name derived from samurai equipment. It is developed as one of the products of Yaegaki Sake Brewery and is brewed with traditional sake brewing techniques. Using Yamada Nishiki and Senju no Mizu, it features a mellow taste typical of Yaegaki Sake Brewery.
Kogajo
虎臥城It is a brand derived from another name for Takeda Castle, "Kogajo" (because it looks like a tiger lying down). Takeda Castle is known as the "Castle in the Sky" and is famous for its fantastic scenery floating in a sea of clouds. It was a brand sold by Kimura Sake Brewery and was a sake that embodied the history and culture of the region. Currently, the building of Kimura Sake Brewery has been converted into a tourist facility as "Takeda Castle Castle Town Hotel EN".
Megane Senyo
メガネ専用 ECMegane Senyo (For Glasses Only) is a unique brand brewed by Hagino Shuzo. Associated with October 1st, which is "Sake Day," it became a hot topic as sake brewed by brewers who all wear glasses. Although the naming and label design are playful, the contents are high-quality sake made seriously, with a fresh taste characterized by acidity.
Chikufu Manyo
竹風万葉Chikufu Manyo is one of the brands of Nakamoto Sake Brewery, and is a brand name imagining the Manyo culture of Nara and the refreshingness of bamboo. Nakamoto Sake Brewery has a history of about 300 years since its founding in 1727, and adhering to the motto of "One White, Two Breweries, Three Toji," they consider sake brewing with high-polished raw rice, good breweries and equipment, and excellent skills to be the best. Since 2005, it has become a brewery that carefully brews only pure rice sake, and more than 99% is brewed according to Ginjo standards. Chikufu Manyo is also brewed as pure rice sake with natural water from the Ikoma mountain range and traditional manufacturing methods, and features a taste that expresses the history and climate of Nara.
Kurabito no Uta
蔵人の詩Kurabito no Uta is a special pure rice sake from Nakamoto Sake Brewery, and is a brand that expresses the thoughts and skills of the brewers involved in sake brewing like a poem. It features a gentle mouthfeel and a very clean taste, followed by a solid umami after a silky smooth texture. It is carefully brewed using Yamada Nishiki as raw rice with a rice polishing ratio of 60% and Association No. 1001 yeast. Special versions such as unfiltered raw sake Shizukushibori and Arabashiri are also released, and it is a brand that embodies the heart of sake brewing of Nakamoto Sake Brewery, filled with the skills and passion of the brewers.
Saburo
さぶろうSaburo is a pure rice sake brewed by Nakamoto Sake Brewery, and is a brand derived from the main building of the brewery, "Sahoro". Sahoro is named after the building built in the residence of Prince Nagayao, the royal prime minister and minister of the left in the Nara period, and has a deep connection with the history of Nara. Nakamoto Sake Brewery is also working on historical sake brewing, such as restoring "Kinki no Koganeshu Nagayao" based on wooden strips excavated from the ruins of the Nagayao residence, and Saburo is also a brand that inherits that tradition. Carefully brewed as pure rice sake in Nara, it features a taste that makes you feel historical romance.
Kicho
嬉長Kicho is the representative brand of Ueda Sake Brewery, filled with the wish that "happy things will continue for a long time," and is brewed by a brewery with a history of over 400 years in Nara, the birthplace of sake. Using underground water said to be the famous water of Ikoma City, high-quality Yamada Nishiki, and Nara Prefecture's original sake rice "Tsuyuhakaze," it is brewed with the motto "Cherishing ancient styles and exploring modern styles." They are thoroughly particular about the rice polishing ratio, polishing Daiginjo to 50% and Ginjo sake to 60% to maximize the Ginjo aroma. It features a slightly dry taste with a gorgeous aroma and deep flavor. They also develop sweet pure rice sake made with the traditional brewing method of 500 years ago called Bodaimoto.
Ikoma Hozan
生駒宝山Ikoma Hozan is a representative brand of Ueda Sake Brewery, and is a Junmai Daiginjo brewed by a brewery with a history of over 400 years at the foot of Mt. Ikoma. It features a sake quality with strong umami and rich aroma and flavor that can be enjoyed throughout the mouth, using underground water from Mt. Ikoma pumped from a well inside the brewery. This water subtly affects the taste, resulting in a one-of-a-kind sake. Toji Isao Ikeda, who inherited the skills of "Modern Master Craftsman" Sadao Yamane, harmonizes tradition and modern technology to create sake with a mellow aroma and elegant taste. It is a brand that brings together the best of Ueda Sake Brewery's technology, where the famous water of Ikoma and high-quality rice harmonize beautifully.
Ikomayama
生駒山Ikomayama is one of Ueda Sake Brewery's brands, a sake brewed in the blessed climate and environment backed by Mt. Ikoma. Ueda Sake Brewery continues to brew mainly three brands: Ikoma Hozan, Seicho, and Kicho, and Ikomayama is properly brewed using Ikoma's underground water and sake rice such as Yamada Nishiki and Tsuyuhakaze. Using Ikoma's underground water, which has been praised as famous water since ancient times, as brewing water, the sake quality carefully brewed with traditional techniques embodies the climate of Ikoma. Offered at a slightly more accessible price point than Ikoma Hozan, it is a brand that can be enjoyed from daily dining tables to special occasions.
Seicho
生長Seicho is one of Ueda Sake Brewery's brands, named from the desire to be "the leader of Ikoma," and contains attachment and pride for the Ikoma region. Ueda Sake Brewery is a brewery that has continued for over 400 years and 18 generations since the first Sohei Ueda, and continues to brew three brands: Ikoma Hozan, Seicho, and Kicho under the blessed climate and environment backed by Mt. Ikoma. Using Ikoma's underground water and sake rice such as Yamada Nishiki and Tsuyuhakaze, it is brewed with an attitude of exploring modern styles while cherishing ancient styles. Developing various types such as Honjozo, it features a refreshing taste and is a brand that embodies sake brewing rooted in the local community.
Manyo Asuka
萬葉飛鳥Manyo Asuka is a brand brewed by Ueda Sake Brewery, a sake themed around Nara's Manyo culture and the historical romance of Asuka. Made from rice, rice koji, and brewing alcohol, it has an alcohol content of 15% and features a soft mouthfeel and light throat feel. With a refreshing and sharp taste, it is popular as a souvenir of Nara sightseeing or as a gift. It is also available as cup sake, and although it is a size that can be easily enjoyed, it is filled with the heart of Ueda Sake Brewery's sake brewing. As a product where you can easily taste the atmosphere of Yamato, the land associated with the Manyoshu, it is a brand that conveys the history and culture of Asuka and Nara through sake.
Kuragarigoe
くらがり越えKuragarigoe is Kikutsukasa Brewing's representative brand, a pure rice sake named after Kuragari-toge, a pass mentioned in Matsuo Basho's haiku. It features a sharp dryness, and the umami derived from rice can be firmly felt. Unfiltered with a rice polishing ratio of 60%, it has a slightly light and slightly dry taste with a pleasant acidity and aftertaste of umami. Brewed with the natural water of the Mt. Ikoma range, carefully selected sake brewing rice, and clear air coming together, it goes well with food and is recommended to be drunk warm. It is a brand filled with Kikutsukasa Brewing's particularity, cherishing old-fashioned methods such as the brewery owner and master brewer pressing all sake in a traditional wooden press.
Sakaya Tobe
酒屋藤兵衛Sakaya Tobe is the original trade name of Kikutsukasa Brewing, and is a brand crowned with a tradition that has been passed down for over 300 years since its founding in 1705. Since the first Tobe started the sake brewing business in the Oze district, which prospered as a post station connecting Osaka and Nara, Kikutsukasa Brewing has continued to protect traditional methods. Developed as Junmai Daiginjo, brewery owner and master brewer Masaru Komai personally leads the brewing, sparing no effort in high polishing, hand-making, small batch preparation, bottle warming, and refrigerator storage. Pressing all sake in traditional wooden "Fune" presses, it is a high-class brand that conveys 300 years of tradition to the present.
Ikoma
往馬Ikoma is a unique sake using "Ornithine Yeast" developed by Kikutsukasa Brewing in joint research with the Nara Institute of Science and Technology and the Nara Prefecture Industrial Promotion Center. Containing ornithine equivalent to 400 clams per liter, it is rich in amino acid components expected to improve liver function. Sold as a limited distribution specially designated sake since 1998, it has a reputation for its unique taste becoming addictive. Furthermore, they also develop products using "Yamanokami Yeast" isolated from Sasayuri lilies blooming in the sacred precincts of Omiwa Shrine, and it is a brand symbolizing the innovation of Kikutsukasa Brewing, where Nara's science and technology and tradition fuse.
Kikutsukasa
菊司Kikutsukasa is the flagship brand of Kikutsukasa Brewing, embodying the tradition of the brewery with a history of over 300 years since its founding in 1705. The brewery owner himself becomes the master brewer, brewing with particularity and sparing no effort such as high polishing, hand-making, small batch preparation, bottle warming, refrigerator storage, etc., and everything is pressed in old-fashioned presses. Carefully selected sake brewing rice, natural water from the Mt. Ikoma range, and clear air that nurtures yeast come together to create a natural and mellow taste. Finished with a "dry and satisfying taste," they also develop traditional method products such as Bodaimoto Junmai. Dry with good sharpness, the straightforward taste is the characteristic of Kikutsukasa.