Kano Sake Brewery’s KISS of FIRE, the First Sake Selected for the Nobel Prize NightCap
December 2012, Stockholm. At the celebratory NightCap party following the Nobel Prize award ceremony, a bottle of Japanese sake stood alongside Dom Pérignon and Moët & Chandon. It was the first sake ever to be officially selected for the party. The following year, in 2013, it was selected again at the same venue.
Its name was KISS of FIRE. It is a refined junmai daiginjo introduced to the world by Kano Sake Brewery, a historic brewery nestled in Kaga, Ishikawa Prefecture.
A Kaga Heritage Dating Back to 1819
Kano Sake Brewery was founded in 1819, the second year of the Bunsei era. The Kano family, long involved in rice farming and tea cultivation, held a celebration during a year of record-breaking harvests. The name they gave their sake was Jōkigen, born from the wish that the joyful, high-spirited mood of that day would last forever.
A profound chapter began for this nearly 200-year-old brewery in 1998, welcoming Naohiko Noguchi, a revered Noto tōji (master brewer) affectionately referred to as the “God of Sake Brewing.” He was named a Contemporary Master Craftsman in 2006 and received the Medal with Yellow Ribbon in 2008. In 2010, he became widely known across Japan through NHK’s Professional: The Style of Work. During Noguchi’s 14 years at Kano Sake Brewery, the brewery transformed from a solid regional producer into a nationally recognized name.
A Junmai Daiginjo Envisioned for the World in 2005
KISS of FIRE was created in 2005, while Master Brewer Noguchi was still at the brewery, as a junmai daiginjo envisioned specifically for the global stage. Its development received the support and cooperation of Louis Vuitton Japan.
The design includes several thoughtful elements. First, the bottle size is 750 ml. Rather than the standard 720 ml used for sake in Japan, it matches the capacity of a wine bottle. The bottle itself features a stylish blue-based design, while the presentation box is indigo. It was clearly conceived to sit naturally in overseas wine cellars and back bars.
Inside is a junmai daiginjo crafted from Yamada Nishiki rice, including some grown in the brewery’s own fields on the Kaga Plain, polished to 50%, and brewed with water from Hakusui no Ido, a well fed by the underground streams of sacred Mount Hakusan. The sake then undergoes roughly three years of long-term, low-temperature aging at around minus 7°C. Rather than pursuing lightness through extreme polishing, its design preserves the umami of the rice while allowing time to build complexity and structure.
Hakusui no Ido, the source of the brewing water, is a well associated with Rennyo Shōnin, the restorer of the Jōdo Shinshū school of Buddhism. It is recorded to have run dry for 30 years before being revived in 1999.
International Recognition and the Nobel Prize
Upon its completion, this expression quietly garnered international recognition.
Its selection for the Nobel Prize NightCap party in 2012 marked the first time a sake had ever been chosen for the event, and it was selected again the following year in 2013. Later, Robert Parker Wine Advocate awarded it 93 points. It also won a gold medal in the junmai daiginjo category at Kura Master, held in France, in 2019.
The Enduring Legacy of a Master
Naohiko Noguchi left Kano Sake Brewery in 2012. Yet of the eight brewery workers he trained there, seven have gone on to become master brewers at sake breweries across Japan. In doing so, Kano Sake Brewery naturally embraced another role: an incubator for the future generation of tōji. At the time of writing, the brewery’s master brewer is Tatsuo Kitani, a first-class certified sake brewing technician who assumed the role in 2011.
Two hundred years of history. A design shaped by the hands of a master. A place at the NightCap party in Stockholm. In one blue bottle, all of these stories intersect — and today, it continues its quiet, long journey out into the world. (Mr. Bacchus)
This article is intended solely to explore the brewing philosophy and cultural heritage of Kano Shuzo Co., Ltd. and the KISS of FIRE brand, and does not aim to promote or encourage the consumption of alcohol. / บทความนี้จัดทำขึ้นเพื่อนำเสนอข้อมูลเกี่ยวกับปรัชญาการผลิตและมรดกทางวัฒนธรรมของ Kano Shuzo Co., Ltd. และแบรนด์ KISS of FIRE เท่านั้น มิได้มีเจตนาเพื่อส่งเสริมหรือโฆษณาเครื่องดื่มแอลกอฮอล์ สำหรับผู้มีอายุ 20 ปีขึ้นไป โปรดดื่มอย่างรับผิดชอบ