Kirinzan Junmai Green Bottle (1.8 L)

In 1882, third-generation brewer Tokukichi Saito renamed the family operation Kirinzan after the forested mountain rising behind the brewery in Aga-machi — a deliberate act of place-claiming that still defines the house philosophy today. The brewery sits at the foot of Mt. Kirinzan, surrounded by roughly 94% beech and cedar forest; snowmelt and rainfall filter through those forest soils into the Tokonami River basin, yielding exceptionally soft, low-mineral water that is the structural backbone of every Kirinzan expression. Soft water slows saccharification and fermentation, enabling the extended cold fermentation that produces Niigata's signature Tanrei Karakuchi — light-bodied, bone-dry, and clean.

This Junmai is brewed with Gohyaku-mangoku rice milled to ≤70% seimaibuai, fermented with proprietary G901 yeast via the sokujo moto method, and tank-aged in stainless steel before pasteurization — a deliberately unadorned process that refuses to mask the rice and water with aromatic engineering. The 1.8 L magnum format is the traditional isshobin, historically the vessel of choice for izakaya and family tables, and Kirinzan's commitment to treating this everyday format as a serious terroir expression is the brewery's most transgressive stance: nearly 30 years of collaboration with 55 local Aga-machi growers and an in-house agricultural division ensure 100% locally sourced rice even at this tier. The result is a sake whose delicate umami backbone and sharp, clean finish reward both chilled aperitif service and warm kan at 45°C.