Masumi Tokusen Honjozo (300 ml)

In 1946, Masumi's brewers isolated a yeast strain from their fermentation tanks in Suwa that would go on to become Kyokai Yeast No. 7 — today used by over 60% of Japan's sake breweries. The Tokusen Honjozo is brewed at the original Suwa Moto-machi kura, established 1662 at the junction of the Koshu Kaido road and the Kirigamine Highlands route, a site historically known as Shimizu-machi ('Clear Water Village'). Water drawn from the Yatsugatake (Eight Peaks) Range snowmelt — cold, mineral-rich, and exceptionally clean — underpins the sake's structural clarity. The yamahai yeast-starter method is employed: natural lactic-acid bacteria are cultivated in the shubo tank over approximately two weeks before fermentation begins, with no commercially added lactic acid — a labour-intensive process Masumi applies across its entire range rather than reserving for premium tiers. This builds the characteristic lactic depth, elevated natural acidity, and clean finish that distinguish yamahai from the modern sokujo norm. As a Honjozo, a small addition of distilled alcohol is incorporated at pressing — a deliberate choice that sharpens aromatic lift and lightens the body without sacrificing the umami backbone the yamahai method delivers. The result is a food-centric, table-structured sake: the founding Miyasaka philosophy of making sake 'so well-balanced and easy to drink that you hardly notice it until the bottle's empty' rendered in its most approachable format.