Umakara Mansaku Tokubetu Junmai (1.8 L)

Hinomaru Jozo in Masuda-machi, Yokote City made a commercially audacious decision: a 335-year-old brewery that entirely ceased production of Futsuu-shu, committing every litre to premium tokutei meishoshu — an almost unheard-of stance at this scale. Tokubetsu Junmai Umakara is built on Akinosei rice polished to 55% (seimaibuai), brewed at 15% ABV through low-temperature, slow fermentation during the long Akita winter, where Yokote's position as Japan's third most snow-covered city naturally suppresses unwanted bacteria and holds fermentation temperatures without mechanical intervention. Water is drawn from four subterranean wells fed by the Ou (Kurikoma) Mountain range — aquifers the brewery describes as among the finest subsoil sources in Akita Prefecture, contributing the clean, mineral backbone that defines the house character. The critical differentiator is bottle-aging in 1.8-litre vessels rather than the industry-standard 500–1,000-litre tanks: a wine-cellar logic applied to sake, which the brewery credits with preventing oxidative drift and locking aromatic precision at the moment of bottling. The result is the 'umakara' (rich-dry) profile — umami depth from the Akinosei grain meeting a dry, brisk finish shaped by cold-climate fermentation — that sits apart from the sweeter ginjo register the brand is also known for.