Hanahato Yamada Nishiki Junmai Daiginjō

Hanahato Yamada Nishiki Junmai Daiginjō (華鳩 山田錦純米大吟醸) is a premium sake from Enoki Shuzō in Hiroshima Prefecture. It is made entirely from Yamada Nishiki grown in Hyōgo Prefecture's Special A (特A) districts, areas particularly highly regarded for the quality of their sake rice. The rice is polished to 35%, leaving just over a third of each grain for brewing.

The sake is brewed with Kumamoto yeast and has an alcohol content of 16.5%. For the 2024 brewing year (R.6BY), the brewery lists an SMV of +4 and acidity of 1.6. Enoki Shuzō describes it as having a gentle, soft aroma and flavour and presents it as one of the brewery's special-occasion and gift-oriented releases.

The combination of Yamada Nishiki from Hyōgo's Special A districts, 35% polishing and Kumamoto yeast follows a long-established approach to premium sake brewing in Japan. Rather than emphasising an especially powerful or unusual style, this release is intended to showcase the rice's quality through a refined, gentle character.

Enoki Brewery is located in Ondo on Kurahashi Island, southeast of Hiroshima Bay and south of Kure City. Ondochō is the legendary Ondo-no-Seto (音戸の瀬戸), where Taira no Kiyomori arrested the setting sun with a fan to be able to complete his new capital, Fukuhara-kyō, faster. Enoki Sake Brewery was founded in Ondo in 1899. Legend has it that the town is home to many descendants of fallen Heike warriors. That's why the brewery used the brand name "Kiyomori", but as historical views on Taira no Kiyomori were not favourable, the owners changed it to 'Hanahato' (華鳩), the primary brand name. 'Kiyomori' is still used as a sub-brand. Hanahato derives from the place name of Hato-oka (鳩岡), where the brewery is built.

Before the war, Enoki Brewery was awarded an honorary prize at national sake competitions. Since the 1950s, it has won 14 gold medals at the National New Sake Competition. In 2001, it won the National New Sake Competition and became the first brewery in Hiroshima to win four awards, including a gold medal. Since then, the brewery has won prizes in the National New Sake Competition and continues to produce high-quality sake. At the International Wine Challenge, the world's largest sake competition, held in London, the brewery was awarded a gold medal in the old sake category for its 8-year-old kijōshu sake (貴醸酒), which won trophies in 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. In 2010, it was the champion. The brewery was the first in Japan to brew kijōshu in 1974.

Hanahato's sake is mild and gentle. Its natural and deep flavour is refreshing and sour. The water quality is medium-soft. The average rice polishing ratio is 60%. The brewery uses Yamadanishiki from Yoshikawa, Hyōgo, for its daiginjō; all other rice is grown in Hiroshima Prefecture. Hachitan-Nishiki and Koi-Omachi are used with high- and flat-polished rice for special sake.

Kijōshu (貴醸酒)

Kijōshu was developed by the National Research Institute of Brewing and Fermentation as a sake for foreign dignitaries. It was named Kijōshu to denote a type of premium sake comparable to Kijō wine. Sake is made from rice, kōji and water; the main characteristic of kijōshu is that it is made from sake instead of water. At the end of the three-stage brewing process, the sake is brewed using junmai-shu instead of water. Brewing with sake allows the yeast to ferment the alcohol more slowly, producing rich, mellow, fragrant sake.

In 1974, Hanahato became the first company in Japan to produce kijōshu, based on a production patent from the National Tax Agency's brewing laboratory. In the early days, this type of sake was criticised, with some saying that such dark-coloured, sweet sake is not sake. Still, after repeated trial and error, the acceptance of kijōshu gradually grew as food culture diversified. Just as brewing water is essential for sake, kijōshu requires high-quality sake. It takes more time, effort, and cost than sake, but the quality of the sake is preserved even when stored for a long time, and as it ages, it develops a rich flavour that is smoother on the palate and has a more profound, sharper aftertaste.

The taste is rich and mildly sweet. It has a rich, full-bodied flavour with a raisin and nutty aroma. However, it has a more acidic flavour than ordinary sake, making it sweet yet surprisingly refreshing. The more it matures, the deeper the amber colour becomes and the more mature the taste becomes. It may be closer to sherry or Madeira than to sake.

Oishi so Japan had an excellent feature on Enoki Brewery, its Hanahato brand, and kijōshu: