Seikyo Junmai Ginjo Maboroshi (1.8 L)

In 1947, 4th-generation brewmaster Kiyoma Nakao invented koon toka — a high-temperature saccharification method that heats koji rice, brewing rice, and water to 55°C to eliminate competing bacteria, then rapidly cools to 40°C before lactic acid addition. The technique is now used by over 60% of Japanese breweries for their daiginjo competition sakes, yet it was born in a small coastal warehouse in Takehara, Hiroshima.

Takehara sits on the northern shore of the Seto Inland Sea, drawing pure spring water from the Kamo Mountains — characteristically soft water that dissolves slowly through the fermentation mash, producing the mellow, melting texture the Hiroshima kirei (clean, beautiful) style is known for. Soft water's low mineral content slows fermentation, encouraging delicate aromatic development over brute fermentable sugar extraction.

This Junmai Ginjo is built on Hattan Nishiki, Hiroshima's own sake rice, polished to ≤60% seimaibuai, and fermented with the brewery's proprietary apple yeast — isolated by Kiyoma Nakao after testing over 2,000 yeast sources. Pressing is performed on a Yabuta machine, and the sake rests in enamel-coated steel tanks with no wood contact. The apple yeast is the transgression: where most Hiroshima breweries lean on neutral yeast profiles to let soft-water texture dominate, Nakao layers a crisp, fruit-forward acidity on top of that same mellow base — a deliberate structural contrast unique to the Maboroshi line.