Shooting Star (300 ml)

Founded in 1843 by the Saito family — who pivoted from charcoal manufacturing to sake brewing — Kirinzan was renamed in 1882 after the mountain that defines its address: Mt. Kirinzan in Aga-machi, Niigata, a landscape that is 94% dense beech and cedar forest. That forest is not incidental. Soft, low-mineral water drawn from the Tokonami River basin filters naturally through beech forest soils before reaching the brewery, and it is this water chemistry — low hardness, minimal dissolved solids — that enables the extended, slow cold fermentation at the core of Niigata's Tanrei Karakuchi (light and dry) philosophy. The Shooting Star is a Junmai Ginjo built on Gohyakumangoku rice, polished to 55% seimaibuai, fermented with the brewery's proprietary G901 yeast strain via sokujo (quick-starter) moto method, then tank-aged in stainless steel. The result is a sake that deliberately refuses aromatic showmanship: no ester-forward ginjo perfume, no sweetness as a crutch — instead a delicate umami backbone, a razor-sharp dry finish, and a structural cleanliness that holds across serving temperatures. What is genuinely unusual here is the sourcing discipline behind even this 300 ml format: 100% of the rice comes from within 10 km of the brewery, grown by 55 contracted Aga-machi farmers, a supply chain Kirinzan spent nearly 30 years building. Non-vintage by nature; drink now through the next 12–18 months, lightly chilled or at room temperature.