Flavour Profile:Â
Kun-Shu (Aromatic)
This Sake reflects the Niigata style while is a general soft body with a slight dryness and well balanced on the palate. The aroma of this sake is very delicate and fruity.
It finishes with a light fragrance and sweetness, smooth and very approachable for meals with sashimi and lightly salted cuisines. Keep chilled and best served around 10°C.
Recommended Pairing: .Sashimi, delicate and refined dishes such as cooked fish, mixed salad, asparagus, scampi or fish fingers.
Grade: Junmai Daiginjo – In order to be Junmai Daiginjo, the sake must be made of only rice, rice koji, water and yeast. Junmai means “pure rice” signifying that there is no distilled alcohol added. The rice used to brew this sake must be polished at least to 50% of its original size. Junmai Daiginjo sake is almost always the more expensive option you’ll see on a sake menu.
Rice Type: Gohyakumangoku
Polished: 55%
Sake Meter Value (SMV): +3
Acidity: 1.3
Region: Niigata Prefecture in the Chūbu region
History of Hakuryu Brewery
The Shirai family founded the Hakuryu brewery in 1839 during the Shogun’s era. Niigata City was then a bustling port for the Kitamaebune trading ships. The predecessors of this brewery once served as shipping agents who traveled to and from Hokkaido, and one member of the family began brewing sake due to the increase in demand as sake became a popular specialty of Niigata.
As descendants of the family business related to ships, they named their brewery Hakuryu -White Dragon – an imaginary animal, considered a guardian for marine vessels in prayer for prosperity in this area. Hakuryu Sake made by by their chief brewers (toji) Yuzuru Yamakawa and Shinji Sharai. Yamakawa is one of the foremost toji in Niigata with over half a century of sake making.
Hakruryu sake has been recognized not only in Japan but also internationally, and has won the “Gold Award” at Monde Selection for 27 consecutive years since 1994. Among them the “Daiginjo Hakuryu” won the gold medal in 1997, “Junmai Daiginjo Hakuryu” in 2002, and “Tokusen Daiginjo Sasaya Shigezaemon” in 1999.
