Kozaemon Shiroku Junmai Kabosu Sake (1.8 L)

Founded in 1702 by Nakashima Kozaemon in Mizunami City, Gifu, this brewery has spent over three centuries drawing water from an underground spring fed by snowmelt off Mt. Byobu — a soft, mineral-light source that underpins the house's signature umakuchi style: rich, umami-forward, and deliberately opposed to the light-dry tanrei karakuchi mainstream.

Mizunami sits at 70% forest cover in the cool, humid Mino highlands adjacent to the Kiso River watershed — conditions that slow fermentation and concentrate rice-derived amino acids. Kozaemon amplifies this further through 98%-humidity koji cultivation to maximise enzyme activity and a four-stage yodan fermentation (a fourth rice-and-water addition beyond the standard three-stage sandan shikomi), extracting umami depth that three-stage brewing cannot reach.

This Shiroku expression introduces kabosu — the tart, aromatic Japanese citrus native to Oita Prefecture — into a no-added-alcohol Junmai base, a transgression within the sake category that reframes the liquid as a culinary ingredient rather than a standalone beverage. The 1.8 L magnum format (isshobin) is the traditional Japanese hospitality vessel, here repositioned for table-side sharing. The kabosu's sharp yuzu-adjacent acidity cuts through the brewery's characteristic umami weight, creating a tension that is structural rather than decorative.