Takesuzume Yamahai Junmai

Gyohyakumankoku and Yamadanishiki rice come together is this soft yet brooding sake, with a few years of age and a Yamahai ferment giving it ripe fruit, nuts, and a complex umami profile which gets better with time and plays well at at a warm temperature. This sake really embodied the brewery's ethods of 'powerful yet flexible' sake.

About the brewery (from the distributor): Otsuka Sake Brewery began brewing in 1884, but its current style came about in 2010 when the 7th generation owner Seiichi Otsuka returned to the breweru. Until this point, they had only produced sak for the local customers wth just two tanks. Otsuka was so impressed with Gensaka's Hachibei Yamahai sake from Mie that he took on years of apprenticeship there. Upon his return, he was determined to use his expertise to create a new brand: Takesuzume. 

The name Takesuzume originates from Otsuka's passion fro Kendo. He would wear his family emblem (bamboo and sparrow) during competitions, with the bamboo representing strength yet flexibility of his sake, and the sparrow symbolising prosperity and the desire to create a sake that brings people together.