Old Japanese sake breweries
From this place,
Connecting the future of aged sake culture.
Japan's first sake brewery specializing in aged sake, "Nihon no Koshukura"
We carefully select rare sake, shochu, awamori, and plum wine from all over Japan that have been produced from 1978 to the present, and breathe new value into each drop that has aged over time.
We will pass on "good old sake" to the future.
Reweaving lost time
Beautiful sake that deepens with time. Aged sake that was once carefully brewed all over Japan has gradually disappeared from people's memories as times change. Behind this lies the reality that the small and medium-sized sake breweries that make it are chronically short of manpower, and the heavy burden of storage and shipping.
If things continue as they are, the precious culture of aged sake, which embodies the flavor of the times, will be lost. Driven by this sense of crisis and mission, we have joined forces with 10 sake breweries across the country to open Japan's first shared storage facility specializing in aged sake, "Japan's Aged Sake Breweries," in 2023.
Shining a new light on a drop that has matured over many years. That was our beginning, and it will continue to be our unchanging path into the future.
<Partner Breweries>
Okada Honke (Morinori, Hyogo Prefecture), Honda Shoten (Tatsuriki, Hyogo Prefecture), Inami Sake Brewery (Aoitsuru, Hyogo Prefecture), Iwase Sake Brewery (Iwanoi, Chiba Prefecture), Matsufuji (Matsufuji, Okinawa Prefecture), Kikumori Sake Brewery (Kikumori, Iwate Prefecture), Koukokuharu Sake Brewery (Maboroshi no Taki, Toyama Prefecture), Umekinzangawa (Umekin, Ehime Prefecture), Kawajiri Sake Brewery (Tenon, Gifu Prefecture), Aizu Sake Brewery (Sato no Izumi, Fukushima Prefecture)
"Non-chilling aging" leads to
The true form of aged sake
While many sake breweries have installed refrigeration equipment to maintain quality, we are committed to aging our aged sake without cooling, that is, at room temperature. The "good old sake" that was once loved all over the country also aged slowly at natural temperatures. We are now trying to revive that culture and flavor once again in the modern era.
Our brewery, with a storage area of 1,988 m2 and a maximum capacity of 300,000 liters, does not have any cooling equipment. Sake quietly breathes as it surrenders to the changing seasons, eventually maturing into a rich, full-bodied flavor. By using a variety of vessels, including wooden barrels such as Mizunara oak, cherry blossom, and bourbon barrels, as well as stainless steel and enamel tanks and one-liter bottles, the same sake can take on different expressions. We are closely involved in each of these changes, quietly watching over the moment when it eventually elevates into the "taste of time."
A unique taste,
Leave it to the future
Inside the brewery, there are 158 brands of sake, shochu, awamori, and plum wine that have been produced from 1978 to the present day. Brands from defunct breweries that no longer have makers and will never be produced again, as well as extra-long-aged sake that would be difficult for a single brewery to sell, quietly thrive here.
By collaborating with sake breweries across the country, we have been able to achieve the long-term storage and management that would not have been possible at a single brewery alone. By gathering a wide variety of fine sake from as far north as Tohoku to as far south as Kyushu and Okinawa, the culture of "aged sake" itself continues to live on in this brewery. Our role is to carefully preserve the stories and techniques that each sake possesses, as well as its unique value, and pass them on to the future.
Transcending breweries and eras,
Creating new flavors
Aged sake is not yet widely known, and is often viewed negatively as "old sake." Our goal is to deliver the true charm of aged sake in a single cup.
To further enrich our delicious aged sake, even a single brand, we continue to refine our unique blending techniques, including wooden barrel aging, creative storage environments, and unique combinations of sake from different breweries and different ages. This is a challenge that can only be undertaken at "Japan's Aged Sake Breweries," where aged sake from breweries all over Japan is gathered in one place. We are not just looking to age, but to create a new sake culture. We believe in the power of time and the skills of people, and are taking steps with an eye to the future.
Because it is an old Japanese sake brewery,
What you can do
Many sake breweries continue to pursue their own unique style of sake brewing, based on their own traditions and techniques. However, because we are not involved in sake brewing, we are able to offer more freedom and flexibility in our proposals, in line with consumer sensibilities and contemporary tastes.
Blends that combine different breweries and vintages, cross-genre product development such as shochu and plum wine, and packaging that caters to diverse lifestyles, such as miniature bottles and designer bottles. We hope to bring the charm of lesser-known aged sake to as many people as possible through ideas and approaches that would have been difficult for traditional sake breweries. We do not "make" sake, but rather "communicate, spread, and nurture" it. We will open up new possibilities for Japan's "good old sake" into the next generation.
