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The Nakano family has been brewing in Handa City on the Chita Peninsula since 1844, a region historically so central to Japanese sake production that its waterways once served as the primary maritime artery for distributing nihonshu across the country. Obaa-Chan No Yuzushu — loosely, 'Grandma's Yuzu Wine' — steps outside the brewery's core sake identity entirely, drawing on yuzu sourced from Kochi Prefecture, Japan's most celebrated yuzu-growing region, where the fruit develops its characteristically sharp, resinous rind and high citric acid concentration under the warm Pacific-facing climate of Shikoku's mountainous interior.

Production follows the brewery's established liqueur approach: yuzu is integrated into a sake base produced via Kunizakari's standard sandan-jikomi (three-stage addition) moromi fermentation using koji-processed rice, with the resulting liquid coarse-filtered to retain textural weight. No wood aging is applied, preserving the raw citrus volatiles intact. The ABV sits within the brewery's standard 13–15% range, giving this more structural presence than most commercial yuzu liqueurs bottled at 8–12%.

What separates this expression from category peers is the deliberate alignment with Kunizakari's food-forward house philosophy — the yuzu acidity is calibrated to cut through umami-rich dishes rather than function as a standalone aperitif sweetener, an unusual design brief for a fruit liqueur. As an NV product, consistency across batches is prioritised over vintage character.

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