Journal

Blog

Stories of makers, ingredients, places and the decisions behind Japan's most compelling drinks.

Drink

How Can We Read a Gin’s Connection to Place? Four Clues in the Official Information for ohoro GIN Standard

Read four official clues that connect ohoro GIN Standard to Niseko: production, local botanicals, Hakkaisan Group ownership and legal labeling.

Drink

Layering Yuzu and Sea Salt over Sake

Explore how Shio Yuzu layers yuzu and sea salt over sake, and how infusion shapes its aroma, structure and legal category as a Japanese liqueur.

Drink

“Organic” Is Backed by Legal Standards; “Natural” Is Self-Declared｜How to Read a Wine Label

Learn how legally defined organic wine differs from self-declared natural wine, and what certification and label language can reliably tell the reader.

Drink

Clear Amazake: Rice Koji, Rice, and Water—Nothing to Hide

Clear Amazake examines how KOJI CLEAR achieves a transparent appearance while retaining rice, koji and water as the foundation of clear amazake.

JAPANESE WINE

How Changes in Winemaking Took Koshu to the World | A Story-Worthy Wine Refined by Katsunuma’s Producers

Trace how Katsunuma winemakers refined Koshu through skin contact, lees aging and vessel choices to reveal the grape’s delicate aroma and texture.

Drink

Shochu at Its Base, Liqueur by Category: MATCHA CAT and the Freedom of Blending

See how MATCHA CAT uses authentic barley shochu as its base while Japanese law classifies the finished blend as a liqueur.

Blog

Pressed Before Time

The 30-Year Journey of Gengai Pressed Before Time: The 30-Year Journey of Gengai On the morning of January 17, 1995, the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake devastated Kobe. Among the breweries reduced to rubble was Sawanotsuru, a sake maker that had been brewing in the Nada Gogo region since the Edo period. Amid the destruction, however, one […]

Blog

Two Years of Zero Wine Tariffs

Thailand’s Evolving Wine Scene Two Years of Zero Wine Tariffs: Thailand’s Evolving Wine Scene Thailand’s wine import market continued its upward trajectory into 2025. Data from the industry publication Vino Joy News reveals that imports reached approximately 40.4 million liters｜an 8.6% year-on-year increase, marking a second consecutive year of steady growth. This stands in stark […]

Drink

Returned, Not Added

Explore how Umenoyado Aragoshi Umeshu returns plum flesh to the bottle, creating texture and fruit character from material once removed in production.

Blog

The Virtue of Time

After sake is pressed, something soft and white always remains in the pressing vat: sake lees, or sake kasu. When these lees are distilled, the result is known as kasutori shochu, a traditional spirit distilled from sake lees.

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