Sake from the south of Japan and this spring 15% discount*
Sake from
the south of Japan and this spring 15% discount on a number of selected
products, follow the link for this.
When you think of where Japanese top sake comes from, the first thought is the
centrally located island of Honshu with areas such as Niigata, Fukushima,
Yamagata, Miyagi, Akita or more in the middle of Nagano, Gifu, Gunma, Aichi,
Kyoto and Hyogo in the north. This is completely correct, most top sake is made
here but that doesn't mean that there isn't special sake made more southern.
First of all, the most famous sake brewery is located in the south, namely
Yamaguchi. This brewery that makes sake under the brand name Dassai only
produces Junmai Daiginjo sake, the highest classification for sake. The
international breakthrough came with the famous Dassai 23. The number after the
name is the polishing ratio or residual weight after polishing the rice. Dassai
45, another well-known sake from this brewery, therefore has 45% residual
weight or 55% of the outside of the rice grain has been removed for the rice
used. Note that this brewery also uses almost only the king and emperor of sake
rice, namely the Yamada-nishiki. The sake that is not backed by the number is
their showpiece, namely Dassai Beyond. Dassai Inc, the brewery behind the brand
name Dassai, is an official partner of the iconic baseball team "The New
York Yankees" and has had a brewery in New York since 2023 that makes sake
under the name Dassai Blue.
Before you leave Honshu Island, there is Hiroshima, with a place that is warmly
recommended for sake lovers. Where sake is central, namely in Saijo with the
"sake brewery street", no fewer than seven breweries offer tours and
tastings here. More about this area in the next newsletter because the most important
and influential blind tasting for sake aimed at consumers will take place in
Hiroshima this year. The International Wine Challenge with the top 75 most
renowned sake experts worldwide will then choose the best sake in Japan in
Saijo, in addition to the best sake in each category such as best Futsu-shu,
best Junmai, best sparkling, best Ginjo etc.
If you go even further south, you will arrive at the island of Kyushu. Known to
the Dutch for the artificial island of Deshima off the coast of Nagasaki. Where
the "Dutch" had a trading post for centuries, which was seen as the
only contact between the Western world and Japan. Very famous for sake is the
prefecture of Fukuoka, long an area where many large breweries from Kobe had
branches. A lot of Yamada nishiki was grown here and in terms of volume in sake
production it was one of the largest in Japan at the time. Great sake can also
be found in Saga where the pure clean pure water here makes for very clean
sake.
Although delicious, refined sake is made on Kyushu, the most famous from this
region is Shochu, Gin and Whisky. Looking for the most beautiful treasures that
can be found in these areas, we were in Saga and Fukuoka in March. To give you
a taste of our discoveries, you will find a large number of products made by
Mitsutake from Saga in our spring offers, in addition to a number of other sake
with a 15% discount. This autumn, the introduction of new products from this
region will follow.
The 15% discount is applied automatically in your basket. You don’t have to do anything yourself. * on a number of selected products
Promo April 2026
