Midorikawa Kuradashi Junmai Nama

Midorikawa Kuradashi Junmai Nama "Gentei Fukkoku Label" (緑川 蔵出し 純米生 "限定復刻ラベル") is a limited revival release produced in a run of 3,000 bottles. The product revisits an earlier brewery release, Kuradashi Ginjō Nama, which has been reformulated and reissued as Kuradashi Junmai Nama, with a reproduction of the former label design.

The sake is bottled as a nama, meaning it is not heat-pasteurised (火入れ hi-ire). It is filled directly after pressing (搾り shibori) while still fresh. Because the sake remains unpasteurised, it retains the characteristic freshness associated with nama sake and must be handled and stored accordingly.

The product represents a junmai-style sake released from the brewery as a freshly bottled seasonal item. The revival label recalls the earlier Kuradashi Ginjō Nama while presenting the sake in an updated form as Kuradashi Junmai Nama.

Midorikawa Brewery (緑川酒蔵), located in Uonuma's former Koide Town—an area famed for its pure rivers and quality rice—was founded in 1884 and relocated in 1990 to its current site surrounded by fields and mountains. This move, led by fifth-generation president Ōhira Toshiharu (大平俊治), was driven entirely by the superior local water: soft, low in iron, and abundant. The brewery uses its own well water and has constructed a fully temperature-controlled facility, which was uncommon at the time, to allow for low-temperature ageing that preserves freshness and refines flavour.

The brewery is known for its rigorous cleanliness and organisation, with tools precisely stored and operations regularly reviewed by outside experts. It uses only Niigata-grown rice, especially the rare Hokuriku No. 12 (北陸12号), revived from seed by the previous generation. Midorikawa partners with approximately 20 local farms, fostering long-term relationships to ensure the highest-quality produce.

Midorikawa has no website, mail-order sales, or sales team; instead, it entrusts its sake only to trusted authorised dealers. This service distribution system was developed over five years in the 1990s and has remained unchanged since. The brewery's sake is understated in both aroma and flavour, made to complement meals with elegance and subtlety—qualities the brewery has quietly championed for over a century.