Speaking of the country of fire, Kumamoto has a strong image of alcohol, but many people have a strong image of making "shochu" as a type of alcohol.
However, the land where Kumamoto Yeast (Kyoto No. 9), which is indispensable for the making of Ginjo sake with a specific name, was developed is Kumamoto, and Kumamoto is widely recognized as a source of sake in the world of sake.
Kumamoto is also known for its ability to consume a lot of clear underground water, typically in the Aso and Kyushu mountains, and high-quality Higo rice is highly valued throughout the country as a compatible rice.
Here, we will introduce the characteristics of Kumamoto sake and 7 carefully selected Kumamoto sake that can be recommended as gifts.
History of Sake in Kumamoto
Kumamoto has its own sake culture. Summer is hot and winter is cold. In Kumamoto, which has such extreme climate, red liquor has been developed that can be stored for a long time without rot by adding wood ash to moromi.
Red sake is a type of "Akumochizake", which will be protected as a national sake in the Edo era, and sake brewing is banned from being manufactured and imported within the clan. At that time, the people of Kumamoto had hardly ever tasted sake.
In the wake of the Meiji Restoration and the Southwest War, many sakes that had been strictly prohibited until now as "traveling sake" came to be brought in, and the brewery in Kumamoto Prefecture began to work on sake production.
As the times progress, Kumamoto's sake is changed to Himochizake, which is made by pasteurizing and heating pasteurized sake.
After that, with the aim of improving the quality of sake, sake brewers in the prefecture will work together to form a Kumamoto sake brewery association in 1879.
In the 1900s, Shiroichi Nono, who became known as the "god of sake" in later generations, was assigned to the Kumamoto Tax Supervision Bureau to provide technical guidance and improve sake brewing.
After that, the Kumamoto Sake Brewery Research Institute, which was established by the Kumamoto Sake Brewers Association, was established, and Mr. Noshiro was appointed as the first technical director. It has a history of devising technologies that are indispensable for sake brewing, such as the Nohaku skylight and double tub system, and laying the foundations of modern Kumamoto brewing.
Characteristics of Kumamoto sake
Kumamoto has Aso mountains. Kumamoto, which has plenty of spring water, including its underground water, is an area where you can get high-quality water as well as a country of fire.
Rice, fruits and crops, which are highly valued nationwide, are cultivated as proof of this, and they are also agricultural prefectures.
There is good water and rice, so there is no reason why good sake does not exist.
Originally, we had been making sake to get drunk, but after the Meiji era, delicious brewing became popular.
Because of its remnants, not all brands are known, but there are many rich and sweet types of Kumamoto sake.
Kumamoto is particularly famous for Kuma shochu, but there are 10 breweries in the northern part of the prefecture, and they are working on sake brewing.
In particular, Kumamoto spread the word "Kyoto No. 9 Yeast," which is said to have become the cornerstone of today's Ginjo Sake, and is also known as Kumamoto Yeast.
At one point, the majority of Daiginjo sake made with this Kumamoto yeast wanted to monopolize the gold prize of the National Shinshu Review.
Sake made with the triple beats of high quality water, yeast from Kumamoto, and Higo rice has the characteristic that there are many rich sweet types that best match sweet Kyushu soy sauce.
7 recommended sakes in Kumamoto
Koro Junmai Ginjo
The brewery is the Kumamoto Prefectural Sake Brewing Institute, which was introduced in the history. He is the creator of Kumamoto yeast and a research institution responsible for maintaining and managing this yeast.
Sake representing the Kumamoto Prefectural Sake Brewery Research Institute is Koro. Junmai Ginjo is a representative of such incense dew.
Koro Junmai Ginjo was born using Kumamoto's yeast, which was developed using Kumamoto's proprietary Kumamoto yeast, using Aso's underground water and brewed rice grown in the rich nature of Kumamoto.
Koro Junmai Ginjo has a gentle yet gorgeous Ginjo incense and a deep, rich taste. The elegant aftertaste brings a pleasant lingering finish.
`` Hana no Kaori 7 '', which uses the Association No. 7 yeast and tastes like a fruity sparkling wine with low alcohol, is a series, and `` Sushi Biru '' is manufactured for those who do not drink much sake Kuramoto has been making unique new products that can be enjoyed by young women and foreigners.
| Brand | Kumamoto Brewery Research Institute Co., Ltd. |
| website | http://www.kumamoto-sake.com/intro/kuramoto01.html |
| Amazon | Click here for Amazon Kuro |
Cicada Junmai Ginjo
Cicada Junmai Ginjo is a junmai ginjo sake made from Kumamoto Prefecture's Yamada Nishiki and Reiho, which is milled to 50% and softened to a soft mouthfeel.
Even if it is brewed, it does not come out immediately, but by spending the time aging in the warehouse for about one year, it brings depth and swelling to the taste.
One of the features of beautiful aftertaste and mild Ginjo scent. The name cicada was named because the process of sleeping in the warehouse for a year overlaps the appearance of the cicada that spends a long time as a larva in the soil.
Kuramoto's Tsurun Sake Brewery was founded in 7 and is a long-established store. It is said that the first generation, who had a very long history and had originally been a wholesaler, started brewing sake in order to save the villages suffering from heavy tribute and comforted the commoners.
There is an anecdote that Takamori Saigo used the Honjin of Satsuma-gun during the Seinan War and boarded.
| Brand | Tsurun Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. |
| website | https://tuzyun.com/ |
| Amazon | Click here for Amazon Cicada |
Mizutaka Junmai Ginjo Sake Kaoru Raw
One bottle brewed using Kumamoto yeast, using Yamada Nishiki, which is grown using a special method of natural cultivation, and Aso's underground water, is Mizutaka Junmai Ginjo Sake Curry.
A gem filled with the commitment of raw Junmai Ginjo Sake, which does not perform any filtration, burning or water splitting.
Because the freshly squeezed is put in the bottle as it is, you will feel a slight throat of carbon dioxide when you put it in your mouth.
No matter how many times you drink, you can feel the dry taste that does not get tired and the umami of rice like rice. It features a freshly rising Ginjo scent, and is perfect for white fish such as white fish.
The brewery is Mizutaka Corporation. Founded in Kawajiri, which has a history dating back to the 3rd year of Keio (1867) and originally flourished as a rice accumulation area of the Higo Hosokawa Domain.
In addition to sake brewing, it is a brewery that cultivates sake rice without fertilizer and actively brews sake using low-polished rice.
| Brand | Mizutaka Corporation |
| website | https://www.zuiyo.co.jp/ |
| Amazon | Click here for Amazon Mizutaka |
Flower fragrance Junmai Ginjo Wasui
We use only Yamada Nishiki, which is cultivated in the town of Wazui where the brewery is located, as raw material, and we use underflow water available in the Kikugawa basin as water for the preparation.
100% Yamada Nishiki, which was raised in the same Kikugawa basin, uses the same water for the Kikugawa area. In addition, the pure rice Ginjo liquor of Wazumizu, which uses Japanese water rice, is the fragrance of flowers.
A gorgeous, fruity fragrance that can be convincingly read as “Nagomi” when written as Japanese water, and a sharp taste that feels sour.
It is a bottle with the thought of sake that tells the land of Wasumi.
The brewery was founded in 35 (Meiji 1902) and is relatively young compared to other breweries in Kumamoto, but I want to mention one that is made with a commitment to local rice and water It is sake.
By the way, Hana no Hana Shuzo also produces shochu, and is a highly appreciated brewery here.
| Brand | Hana no Kozo Brewery Co., Ltd. |
| website | http://www.hananoka.co.jp/ |
| Amazon | Click here for Amazon Flower Incense |
Chiyo no Garden Ginjo Kumamoto God Power
"God power" is said to be the ancestor of sake brewing-friendly rice, and is also called the phantom sake rice. This brewery is made from 100% of rice that is suitable for sake brewing, and even in a mellow, full-bodied flavor, dry Ginjo liquor with a deep and crisp depth will become Chiyo-no-en Ginjo Kumamoto Shinto.
This Ginjo Kumamoto Shinkiki has won the gold prize in the Premium Warm Sake category in the 2019 National Warm Sake Contest, making it one of the most popular bottles nationwide.
The brewery, Chiyono Sono Sake Brewery, was founded in 29, but since it was originally a rice wholesaler, it is important to make sake that specializes in rice as a raw material. It is a feature.
It is also famous for sake lovers as the first brewery to sell junmai sake nationwide after the war. Red sake, which was mentioned in the history of Kumamoto sake, is now useful as a seasoning for Japanese cuisine, but it also manufactures and sells red sake.
| Brand | Chiyo-no-en Brewery Co., Ltd. |
| website | https://www.chiyonosono.co.jp/ |
| Amazon | Click here for Amazon Chiyo no Garden Kumamoto God Power |
Bien Shonen Junmai Ginjo
Fire country brewing, which produced young boys, filed for bankruptcy, and there was a past that saddled sake fans as to whether they could drink more young boys, but after that, young boys Co., Ltd. was the ruins of an elementary school in Kikuchi City, Kumamoto Prefecture The sake brewery has been moved to the city and the young boy has been resurrected.
Kikuchi rice produced locally is used as a raw material, and sake is brewed using water prepared from the Kikuchi River water system, which is known for its rich mineral content.
Many sake enthusiasts have visited the brewery to see the mysterious sight of the sake brewery, even though the appearance is completely a school.
Such a boy's Kenmon Junmai Ginjo has an exquisite balance of acidity and sweetness, and is finished in a dry Junmai Ginjo liquor with a plump rice flavor and richness spread in the mouth.
Young boys have won gold prizes in various contests, but this product is one that won the gold prize at the London Sake Challenge 2014.
The refreshing taste is highly valued as an in-meal liquor, and it can be said to be the perfect sake for rich grilled fish and tempura.
| Brand | Bishoin Inc. |
| website | https://bishonen.jp/ |
| Amazon | Click here for Amazon Shonen |
Kamemanno Shirokane Set No. XNUMX Yeast Junmaishu Burn once
Kameman Sake Brewery, located at the southernmost tip of Japan, is the brewery, and one of the unique sake brewing techniques of Kumamoto using a unique method called south end brewing is Nogoshikan Set No. XNUMX Yeast Junmaishu.
The sake has a fresh, gorgeous aroma, and is characterized by a refreshing taste and a subtle sweetness.
Of course, it can be delicious even at normal temperature or cold sake, but we recommend that you use hot sake because it has won the highest gold prize in the premium sake category of the sake brewing contest.
Kameman Sake Brewery, which pursues the latest technology while maintaining the traditional techniques of sake brewing, is a brewery with a long history since its establishment in 5. It is often thought that the warm sunshine environment, also called the Japanese Mediterranean Sea, is not suitable for sake brewing alone, but it exists on a rich nature land suitable for sake brewing.
| Brand | Kameman Shuzo Joint Stock Company |
| website | http://www.kameman.co.jp/ |
| Amazon | Click here for Amazon Kamemanno Shirokane Set XNUMX yeast |
How to get Kumamoto sake
If you use the Internet, you can purchase the Kumamoto sake that you have introduced in online shopping sites.
However, rare special name sake such as special Junmai sake for a limited time may not be available because there are troublesome people who buy them for resale purposes and auction at premium prices.
In such a case, research a specialty store and purchase it at a store that sells the target sake of Kumamoto.
If there is no problem even if it is not a list price, there is no need to take that much work, but in severe cases it costs three times the price.
Some dealers also offer online shopping, and if you register for e-mail magazine etc., you will receive the stock information before general customers, so it is recommended that you become an email member of some dealers To do.
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Enjoy Kumamoto's sake with a passion that is second to none in the land
How was it.
Kumamoto, also known as the country of fire, is a water country blessed with water sources and has a strong image of shochu, but sake brewing is also actively performed using its own Kumamoto yeast and Higo rice or non-fertilizer sake rice. You.
Demonstrating high protein and low calorie, delicious local foods such as cherry meat and horse meat dishes, which are explodingly popular mainly among women, such as dumpling soup, Takana meal, Takamori Danraku, mustard lotus root, etc. Why don't you enjoy Kumamoto's sake, which is made with a fiery passion that is as competitive as the land, while tasting it?
