Eikun Karakuchi Junmai (720 ml)

When the Saito family formally adopted the name Eikun in 1915 — marking Emperor Taisho's ascension — they were already two decades into building a reputation around a single conviction: that Fushimi's underground water, not winemaking intervention, should define the sake. That water, the Fusui spring flowing beneath the Momoyama Hills, is low-iron, low-mineral, and exceptionally soft — designated among Japan's top 100 water sources by the Ministry of the Environment — and it is the structural reason Fushimi sake pours with a rounded, almost silken weight that the harder, sulfate-rich wells of Nada cannot replicate.

This Karakuchi Junmai is built on Iwai rice, polished to a seimaibuai of approximately 60%, sourced almost entirely from Kyoto Prefecture — a variety Eikun controls at roughly 40% of total annual production, making it effectively unavailable to breweries outside the region. Fermentation follows sandan jikomi (three-addition) cold-temperature protocol under Kyoto-sourced yeast, guided by a toji of the Nanbu Toji guild, with standard hiire pasteurisation before bottling at approximately 15–16% ABV.

The transgression here is the SMV positioning: labelled karakuchi (dry), yet the Fusui water's softness prevents the sharp, austere finish that dry sake from harder-water regions delivers — the dryness reads clean and grain-forward rather than austere. Drink now through near-term; serve lightly chilled at 10–12°C or warmed to 45°C to open the rice umami.