A Promise Between the God of Sake Brewing and the Man Entrusted with Hibiki

In December 2023, at the Commissioner for Cultural Affairs Awards ceremony, two master craftsmen from entirely different worlds exchanged words for the first time.

One was Naohiko Noguchi. Born in Noto, Ishikawa, in 1932, he devoted himself to sake brewing from the age of sixteen. Over his career, he earned 27 gold medals at the Annual Japan Sake Awards, including a remarkable streak of 12 consecutive wins. Revered as “the god of sake brewing,” Noguchi once retired, only to return in 2017 as the master brewer of the institute bearing his own name. There is a famous irony about him: despite possessing one of the finest palates in the world of sake, he can barely handle a single serving of alcohol. Precisely because he could not drink much himself, he traveled tirelessly to meet consumers face-to-face, listening to their voices and refining his craft around their experience.

A Shared Purpose Amidst Crisis

The other was Keiichi Koshimizu, the legendary Suntory blender behind masterpieces such as Hibiki and Yamazaki 50 Year Old. He became the first Japanese person inducted into the whisky industry’s Hall of Fame.

One worked in fermented alcohol, the other in distilled spirits. Their worlds should never have crossed. Yet less than a month after they met, on January 1, 2024, the Noto Peninsula earthquake struck. Noto was Noguchi’s homeland.

Koshimizu reached out with a simple question: “Is there anything we can do for Noto?”

That question sparked a unique collaboration, bringing the philosophy of whisky blending into the world of sake.

The result was Yumezukuri: Special Limited Sake for Noto Earthquake Recovery Support.

The Harmony of Seven Vintages

From the institute’s reserves of yamahai-brewed sake, nine different base sakes were selected from five varieties of rice and seven brewing vintages. Koshimizu then unified them into a single expression by blending them together. The goal was to create layers and depth impossible to achieve from a single tank alone.

Looking back, Koshimizu said:

“In whisky, you mix strengths and flaws together to create a chemical transformation. But Noguchi-san’s sake posed a different kind of challenge; each expression was already complete on its own.”

Even so, Noguchi ultimately declared:

“This tastes even better than any individual one alone.”

Crafted with the Soul of Noto

Yumezukuri is not a sparkling or flashy sake. It is a quiet composition built upon the powerful backbone cultivated through the traditional yamahai method. It was deliberately designed to transform across temperatures: from chilled at around 10°C (50°F) to warmed sake at roughly 55°C (131°F), the aroma and character evolve gracefully, revealing different facets from a single bottle.

Even the details of its presentation carry the spirit of the land. The label is made with Noto Nigyo washi paper, and the title calligraphy was created by Tansetsu Ogino, the same calligrapher who designed the iconic “Hibiki” logo. A portion of the proceeds is dedicated to supporting the earthquake-stricken region.

Before Yumezukuri is judged by taste alone, it asks first to be understood through the reason it exists at all.

It is a bottle that carries the weight of seventy years accumulated by a brewer once called a god, the philosophy of a world-renowned blender, and a shared wish for the rebirth of a homeland.

And with that story intact, it quietly makes its way to the next table. (Mr. Bacchus)

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This article is intended solely to explore the brewing philosophy and cultural heritage of Noguchi Naohiko Kenkyujo and the Yume Zukuri brand, and does not aim to promote or encourage the consumption of alcohol. / บทความนี้จัดทำขึ้นเพื่อนำเสนอข้อมูลเกี่ยวกับปรัชญาการผลิตและมรดกทางวัฒนธรรมของ Noguchi Naohiko Kenkyujo และแบรนด์ Yume Zukuri เท่านั้น มิได้มีเจตนาเพื่อส่งเสริมหรือโฆษณาเครื่องดื่มแอลกอฮอล์ สำหรับผู้มีอายุ 20 ปีขึ้นไป โปรดดื่มอย่างรับผิดชอบ

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