Tatenokawa Junmai Daiginjō Honryū Karakuchi

Tatenokawa Junmai Daiginjō Honryū Karakuchi (楯野川 純米大吟醸 本流辛口), is an authentic version of karakuchi where you can feel the flavour of the rice—different from tanrei karakuchi, which has less flavour. It has a pleasant balance of spicy and umami taste, a calm ginjō aroma, and a refreshing sharpness. It is the spiciest of Tatenokawa's year-round sakes and is most suitable for meals. Among Tatenokawa's standard range, it has many repeat customers and is very popular as it can be matched with a wide variety of Japanese food.

It's a dry drink perfect for connoisseurs, with a taste and richness you can feel while holding it in your mouth and a sharp spiciness that fades away as you drink it.

From tanrei karakuchi to hōjun karakuchi ("full-bodied dry")

The term "tanrei karakuchi" (淡麗辛口) took off in the 1990s. Tatenokawa aims to dispel the image derived from this, that it is just spicy and light-tasting. At first glance, the two seemingly contradictory elements of rice flavour and a sharp aftertaste, but they believe that dry sake that complements food with its rice flavour and sharpness is the "true" style of sake.

Honryū Karakuchi goes perfectly with sashimi and sushi. It is recommended to drink chilled for a sharper taste, but it is delicious served warm at around 40°C. Drinking it chilled brings out the sharpness and a refreshing feeling, while serving it hot emphasises the rice flavour.

Tatenokawa Brewery is nestled in Sakata, a city in the northwest of Yamagata Prefecture that boasts the region's most crucial port—surrounded by the Sea of Japan and Mount Chokai, the brewery crafts exquisite sake from the finest Shonai rice and pristine spring water. The cityscape is dominated by the verdant rice fields of the Shonai Plain and the Mogami River that flows through it.

The brewery's history dates back to 1832, when Heishiro, the founder, was inspired by a retainer of the Uesugi clan to start making sake with the exceptional local water. In 1854, the Sato family established Tatenokawa Brewery in Sakata and continued the tradition of sake production for 190 years. In October 2021, Tatenokawa Brewery announced its revival of sake made from Sobei Wakasa, an indigenous sake rice variety from Shonai and the ancestor of Kamenoo. In May 2022, Tatenokawa introduced Soryu, a low-alcohol seasonal sake perfect for summer, made from Yamadanishiki, a premium sake rice.