Japanese Products Archives - Page 2 of 25

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Does Maewari Make Shochu Mellow? Understanding the Role of Water and Time

What does mellowness mean in maewari? Explore dilution, assessments of resting time, the roles of water at Nakamura Shuzojo, and the kuro-joka tradition in Kagoshima.

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Shichiken “Hoshi no Kagayaki” Honored with the President’s Prize at Kura Master 2026｜Sparkling Sake Born of Hakushu

Shichiken Hoshi no Kagayaki received the sake competition’s President’s Prize at Kura Master 2026. Trace Hakushu’s water, local rice farming and secondary fermentation in the bottle.

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Does Sake Deteriorate After One Year? Time, Temperature, and −5°C Storage

A bottling date alone cannot determine sake quality. Explore storage temperature, the differences between namazake and pasteurized sake, and producers who age sake below zero.

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Tracing Acidity: How Asia’s Bar Scene Reframes Regional Flavor

Regional acidity can be understood by tracing the ingredients and processes behind fruit, preservation, fermentation and distillation.

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Decoding the Label: Five Essential Whisky Terms

Mash bill, single malt, cask strength, small batch and expression describe different aspects of whisky making, from grain proportions to bottling.

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Understanding “Origin” in Sake as the Climate Shifts

Rice fields, brewing water and brewery location each tell a different part of sake’s origin as the climate shifts.

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The Architecture of Flavor: Defining the Four Expressions of Sakurao Distillery

Four gins from Sakurao Distillery reveal how botanical origin, a coastal plant and added floral aromas shape different expressions.

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Koshu from Yamanashi and Pinot Noir from Yoichi: What Place Names Reveal About Japanese Wine

Bringing the name of a grape variety to the world. Protecting the name of a place. Nurturing the next generation of winemakers. Each of these efforts forms part of the story behind Japanese wine.

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The Differences in Barrel-Aged Shochu Begin Before the Barrel

Sake lees, fermentation, aging, and bottling: tracing the character of seven spirits through how they are made.

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Six Expressions from One Rice: The Distinct Personalities of Six BORN Sakes

Place these six BORN labels side by side, and differences in polishing ratios and maturation periods immediately stand out. Yet numbers alone do not reveal the character of each sake.

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“Authorized Distributor” Status Is Reviewed Annually: Juyondai and Official Distribution in Thailand

On July 1, 2026, a certificate was issued jointly by Takagi Shuzo of Yamagata Prefecture and Japan Craft Sake Company Co., Ltd., a company whose name appears alongside Takagi Shuzo in Juyondai's official brand book.

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720 Milliliters and Four Gō: The Edo-Period Standard on Modern Sake Bottles

On shelves across Bangkok, sake and wine often sit side by side. Wine commonly comes in 750 ml bottles, while sake typically comes in 720 ml or 1.8-liter bottles. The 30 ml difference between the wine and sake bottles seems slight, yet 720 ml remains a curiously specific number in the metric world.

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