SAKE & SPRIRITS

Umeshu, with its subtle sweet flavour, has been consumed for over 1,000 years in Japan. This wine is made from green ume plums, shochu and sugar, and is left to mature for between three months and one year. Because of the healthy properties of ume, umeshu is popular not only as an aperitif and for drinking with meals, but also as a medicine. Ume plums are rich in minerals such as potassium and calcium and contain large amounts of fruit acid, which aids digestion and breaks down lactic acid. They are also said to increase the body’s metabolic rate and reduce tiredness.

Made from a variety of ingredients such as wheat, sweet potato and corn, shochu is distinguished from Western spirits by the use of koji, (a ’starter’ used in the making of sake, soy sauce, and miso) at the stage of initial fermentation. Depending on the distillation method used, shochu is divided into two categories: the single distillation method is used to make traditional shochu, in which more of the flavour of its ingredients is retained. The multiple distillation method is well suited for making coctails and fruit liquors. Shochu contains no fat or sugar, and is good drunk with hot water, in cocktails, or onits own.

Beer was first test–brewed in Japan in 1853, following a Dutch recipe. The country's first brewery was established in the 1870's and since then, beer, especially lager, has become very popular as an accompaniment to Japanese food. Japanese beer drinkers consider how well a beer refreshes the throat and cleans the palate as being particularly important (an aspect known as ’kire’ – literally, ’cutting’), and major Japanese beers are especially brewed for a sharp, clean finish. In 1994, the minimum production quantity needed for a brewery to obtain a manufacturing licence was reduced, and since then many small regional brewereies have been established, providing a great variety of original beers.

Beer was first test–brewed in Japan in 1853, following a Dutch recipe. The country's first brewery was established in the 1870's and since then, beer, especially lager, has become very popular as an accompaniment to Japanese food. Japanese beer drinkers consider how well a beer refreshes the throat and cleans the palate as being particularly important (an aspect known as ’kire’ – literally, ’cutting’), and major Japanese beers are especially brewed for a sharp, clean finish. In 1994, the minimum production quantity needed for a brewery to obtain a manufacturing licence was reduced, and since then many small regional brewereies have been established, providing a great variety of original beers.

YUZUKOMACHI

A liquor made from yuzu, a citrus fruit.

HAKKAIZAN / DAIGINJYO

KISSUI VODKA

Sake, Japan’s national alcoholic drink, is made from fermented rice. Brown rice is ’polished’ to make the smaller white rice grains used in the brewing of sake, which is categorized according to the degree of rice polishing: junmaishu (pure rice sake), honjozo (sake with a llimited addition of brewers’s alcohol), ginjoshu (the highest grade category) and futsusu (common grades of sake. Sake is clear, but sometimes has a yellow tint. It has a slightly sweet taste and an alcohol content of 14 to 16 %. Traditionally, it is served warm in a small porcelain cup or cold in a glass.

OKUNOMATSU ZENMAI DAIGINJO

A new and moving daiginjo sake made using the all-rice process. The alcohol content added to this product has been distilled from junmai ginjo.

Gekkeikan Horint

Gekkeikan’s top class sake, “Horin” brand junmai daiginjo (literally “pure rice ultra premium quality sake”), has been awarded a Grand Gold Medal in the Spirits & Liqueurs Division of the 2006 Monde Selection international food and beverage competition.Horin is made from a combination of two Japanese sake-brewing rice varieties – Gohyakumangoku and Yamada Nishiki – which are milled to 50% their original size. Brewed slowly at low temperatures, this sake develops a pleasantly rich fragrance and smooth taste.

DASSAI NIWARI SANBUN

a masterpiece. Dassai was a hit and understandably so. complex and layered with hints of fruit and a touch of a dry finish.

DASSAI 50

Light, balanced, clean and easy drinking, this sake is a star. It's wonderful for beginners to get into sake and fantastic for others to simply enjoy.

Gekkeikan

KUBOTA HEKIJU

KUBOTA MANJU

KUBOTA SENJU

KUBOTA HYAKUJU

SAWANOI / DAIGINJYO

SAWANOI / TOKUBETUJYUNMAI

ASAHIYAMA

OZEKI
NOMONOMO