Hakurakusei ‘The Connoisseur’ Tokubetsu Junmai Sake NV

Brewery: Niizawa •   Prefecture: Miyagi • ABV: 15.5% •  Rice: Yamada Nishiki milled to 60% • Sake Meter Value: +2 • Acidity: 1.6

• Clean and focused modern style sake
• Notes of apricot, peach and citrus zest
• Bright acidity on the finish makes for robust food pairing options
• Yamada Nishiki rice from Hyogo milled to 60%

Classic example of a modern sake style, the Hakurakusei Tokubetsu Junmai is laser focused, a clean, direct sake bursting with vitality. Nuances of apricot and peach and faint notes of citrus zest. Fresh and alive with a tingly finish, this sake is designed to stimulate the appetite and to complement light and delicate dishes without overwhelming them. Particularly good with a variety of sashimi or summer salads. High quality Yamada Nishiki rice from Hyogo prefecture milled to 60%.

Atago no Matsu, Tokubetsu Honjozo Sake NV

Brewery: Niizawa Jozoten •  Prefecture: Miyagi • Rice: Yamada Nishiki milled to 60% •  Sake Meter Value: +7 •  Acidity: 1.6 • ABV: 15.5%

• A remarkably elegant honjozo popular with local Miyagi drinkers.
• Unusual for a sake of this grade it is made from Grade A Yamada Nishiki from Hyogo, some of the most highly sought after rice in the country and almost always used in more premium sake styles.
• Dynamic aroma and flavors of tart wild strawberries and green herbs balanced with mild creaminess.
• Versatile in food pairings but excellent with raw oysters, fluke and scallops. An excellent match for caviar.

Hakurakusei ‘The Connoisseur’ Junmai Ginjo Sake NV

Brewery: Niizawa • Prefecture: Miyagi • ABV: 15.5% • Rice: Kura no Hana milled to 55% • Sake Meter Value: +2 • Acidity: 1.6

• Clean, zippy and made for food pairing
• Notes of grapefruit and melon
• Pair well rich dishes like chicken liver mousse
• Kura no Hana rice milled to 55%

Slightly fuller and chewier than the Hakurakusei Tokubetsu Junmai, it shares the house style: clean and zippy and remarkably food friendly. Enjoying this out of glassware with plenty of room to breathe can really unlock its nuances, once you catch a touch of grapefruit or melon it disappears. Just full enough to stand up to richer and sweeter foods like simmered Japanese nimono dishes or to cut through chicken liver mousse. And if you’ve never tried the heavenly combination of sake and caviar, this is the place to start. Made from lesser known varietal Kura no Hana rice milled to 55%.

Hakurakusei ‘The Connoisseur’ Junmai Daiginjo Sake NV

Brewery: Niizawa •  Prefecture: Miyagi• ABV: 16.5% • Rice: Omachi milled to 40% • SMV: +5 • Acidity: 1.6

• Elegant daiginjo that is the pinnacle of Hakurakusei sake
• Classic daiginjo fruitiness with savory, herbal notes from the Omachi rice
• Pairs with a broad range of cuisine
• Heirloom Omachi rice milled to 40%

For his Junmai Daiginjo Niizawa-san has chosen to use heirloom Omachi rice milled to 40% which gives this graceful sake a slightly herbal and savory quality. A light bodied sake with a delicate balance of flavors and textures, this is the pinnacle of the Hakurakusei series, an elegant premium sake ideally matching a range of cuisine.

Zankyo ‘Super 7’ Junmai Daiginjo Sake 2025

The Zankyo Super 7 started as a challenge from Niizawa-san and his team to push rice polishing to the absolute limit and see just how refined a sake they could make. While the threshold for getting to the highest qualification of Junmai Daiginjo/ Daiginjo is polishing away 50% of the rice, some producers have experimented with higher polishing rates, down to 40% or 35% remaining. The more you polish the more delicate the center of the rice grains get, and the danger of them cracking or burning grows higher, meaning even more time must be taken to preserve the rice.

In past years this was released as “Super 8” when they were able to get enough rice down to just 8% of its original size. In 2015, after 350 hours of polishing, they surpassed themselves and made it to 7%. The result is a sake that earns the name Zankyo, literally “Reverb” or “Vibration”, with an incredibly light and delicate structure that creates delicate and fleeting textures, flavors and aromas that characterize the very best sake: always just beyond your reach.

Reikyo ‘Absolute 0’ Junmai Daiginjo Sake 2025

Prefecture: Miyagi • Brewery: Niizawa Jozoten • Rice: Kura no Hana milled to 0.85% • Water: Soft spring water from Mt. Zao • Sake Meter Value: 0 • Acidity: 1.4 • ABV: 16%

• Made from Kura no Hana rice milled to 0.85%, remaining, the most highly polished sake in the world.
• Smooth, with faint notes of Asian pear and honeydew, and a quiet, whispering finish.
• Packaged in a handmade wooden box made with traditional Japanese wood joinery techniques.
• Just 999 bottles produced annually.

Sake making reaches a pinnacle with Reikyo ‘Absolute 0’. Niizawa Brewery made history by taking a full seven months to polish rice down below 1% remaining and then being able to grow koji on the tiny grains. By using the very center of the rice they are able to coax out haunting, evolving flavors and a delicate texture. The result is a masterpiece of sake making: pristine yet bold, a drink both of contemplation and of sheer pleasure.

Reikyo ‘Crystal 0’ Junmai Daiginjo Sake NV

Prefecture: Miyagi • Brewery: Niizawa Jozoten • Rice: Yamada Nishiki Rice milled to 0.85% • Water: Soft spring water from Mt. Zao • Sake Meter Value: 0 • Acidity: 1.4 • ABV: 16%

• Made from Kura no Hana rice milled to 0.85%, remaining, the most highly polished sake in the world.
• Bold tropical flavors of pear, pineapple, vibrant, glossy texture dissolving into a whispering, haunting finish.
• Packaged in a handmade wooden box made with traditional Japanese wood joinery techniques.
• Just over 600 bottles produced annually.

Using the very center of the grain makes sake with a vibrant texture, depth, clarity, and evolving flavors. Luscious and enveloping flavor, the full expressive qualities of Yamada Nishiki rice bring out notes of tropical fruit, but with a hauntingly elusive finish. Much more expressive and bold than the gentle textures of Absolute 0.

Date Seven ‘Season II Episode 4 – Niizawa Style’ Junmai Daiginjo Sake 2024

Brewery: Niizawa Jozoten• Prefecture: Miyagi• Rice: Yamada Nishiki Rice milled to 48% • Yeast: Niizawa House Yeast • Water: soft well water • Sake Meter Value*: +3 • Acidity: – • ABV: 15%

• For their Date Seven expression Hakurakusei has taken inspiration from their mountain home of Kawasaki. A sake of power and insistence but delicacy and lightness.
• The lines of the label evoke the contour lines of their surrounding mountain range and the green evokes the lush landscape.
• Fermented using an in-house yeast, the sake features an elegant aroma and notes of melons and white grapes. Rounds out with a delicate and fleeting finish.

Hojun, Yuzu Sake NV

Brewery: Niizawa Jozoten •  Prefecture: Miyagi  • ABV: 12% 

• Yuzu sake made from high quality sake mixed with fresh yuzu juice and a bit of sugar added for balance.
• Less sweet and more citrusy than other yuzu sake
• Excellent chilled, on the rocks, or as the perfect way to brighten up cocktails.
• Keep refrigerated once open: flavor can stay fresh for months.