Tamagawa Junmai Ginjō Iwai Namazake

Tamagawa Junmai Ginjō Iwai Namazake (玉川 純米吟醸 祝生酒) is a once-a-year bottling made entirely from Kyōto's sake rice Iwai, polished to 60%. Iwai is known for its softness and the rounded, almost understated flavour it brings, and this version keeps that character while adding the firm, weighty style associated with Kinoshita Shuzō. The sake is bottled exactly as it comes from the press — unfiltered, unpasteurised and undiluted — which preserves the raw energy of freshly pressed shinshu and the natural shape of the rice. Some batches from this "3U" series are usually blended into regular products, so tasting them in this untreated form offers a rare look at the brewery's base material. Under Philip Harper's direction, the result has a calm, modest aroma and a concentrated, savoury depth that carries through the palate.

The flavour shifts noticeably with temperature. Chilled, it shows a fresh, crisp side with a light touch of sweetness. As it reaches room temperature, the umami of the Iwai rice broadens and the acidity settles into a gentler balance. Gently warmed, it becomes softer and more integrated, revealing a more profound richness without feeling heavy. This makes the sake easy to pair with food: dishes such as chicken teriyaki, grilled mackerel, Kyoto-style white-miso oden, or saba-zushi are a perfect match for its combination of weight, acidity, and quiet sweetness.

Kinoshita Shuzō, in Kōyama, Kyōtango, Kyōto Prefecture, was founded in 1842 by the fifth head of the Kinoshita family, Kinoshita Zenbei (木下善兵衛), who reportedly used the harvest from almost thirty hectares of rice fields and the copious spring water gushing from the mountain behind the brewery. The hereditary name Zenbei was passed down to the 6th and 7th generations. Then, the company was led by the 8th, 9th and 10th generations (Sentaro, Zenichiro and Juichi, respectively) before being handed on to Kinoshita Yoshito, the current president and the 11th in line.

The brand name Tamagawa can be translated as "Jewel River." The name is thought to refer to the Kawakamidani River, which flows by the brewery. The character 玉 (tama) means a jewel and has sacred implications in Japan's native Shinto . 川 (kawa or gawa in compound words) means river.

Kinoshita Shuzō is one of the few Japanese breweries with a foreign tōji, Philip Harper. Born in the UK, he graduated from Oxford University. He taught English under the JET programme until he discovered sake. He worked at Umenoyado Sake Brewery for ten years before taking and passing the Nanbu Tōji Association's qualification test in 2001, earning him the title of 'Tōji'. He was the first foreigner to become a toji (and the only one at the time). He then worked at Umenoyado Shuzō, Daimon Shuzō and other breweries before becoming tōji at Kinoshita Shuzō in 2008.

Kinoshita Yoshito gave him full responsibility for everything except following the locally favoured taste of regular sake and daiginjō. He immediately began producing kimoto sake, which does not use brewing lactic acid, and yamahai, which uses only natural yeast from the brewery. In addition to new sake types like 'Icebreaker' and 'Time Machine', Tamagawa's legacy is reflected in the sake he produces.

Along with the new master brewer, the brewery's logo was redesigned by Sakane Katsusuke with an innovative design to symbolise the new Tamagawa. It is now widely known as the 'Marutama mark' (丸玉マーク).