SAKE MAP
Kansai / Types: Sake
Six drinks from Nara, each with a snack that suits it and a short story behind the bottle.
Kazenomori
An innovative bottle blowing a modern wind from Nara, said to be "the birthplace of sake." Its hallmark is a fresh, just-pressed slight sparkle and vivid umami. Insisting on unfiltered, undiluted fresh sake, it's spread fans nationwide. You can feel the new caliber of Nara, with a fizzy tingle.
Pairs with：Kakinoha-zushi (persimmon-leaf-wrapped sushi) / Yamato jidori (local chicken)
Harushika
A representative Nara bottle brewed at the foot of Kasuga Taisha shrine. Its crisp super-dry "Chokara" is known for its sharpness. It has an elegant name, fitting an old capital where the gods' deer roam. After a stroll through Nara Park, you'll want to taste it.
Pairs with：Narazuke (sake-lees pickles) / Miwa somen (fine wheat noodles)
Suiryu
A hardcore kimoto bottle with the powerful name "sleeping dragon." Its aged, rich umami deepens all the more when warmed. It's a slow-type sake carrying the tradition of the old capital into today. Like a dragon waking over time, open it slowly.
Pairs with：Asuka-nabe (milk-based chicken hotpot) / Yamato jidori (local chicken)
Shinomine
A bottle of many faces, brewed in Gose at the foot of Mt. Katsuragi. Its charm is a playfulness that offers different tastes with each season. It's known for the breadth of its craft, from crisp to full. A sake that mirrors the shifting of Nara's nature into a cup.
Pairs with：Miwa somen (fine wheat noodles) / Kakinoha-zushi (persimmon-leaf-wrapped sushi)
Hanatomoe
An individualist brewery in the mountains of Yoshino, taking on wild yeast and long ageing. Its firm acidity and complex umami give a distinctive presence. Its creed is to deliberately push traditional craft to the limit, a hardcore stance. A bottle with depth, evoking the deep forest of Yoshino.
Pairs with：Narazuke (sake-lees pickles) / Asuka-nabe (milk-based chicken hotpot)
Mimurosugi
A bottle of the land of Miwa, home to a shrine to the god of sake, said to be Japan's oldest. Fitting the land of myth, its hallmark is a clear, pure taste. Lately, with refined craft, it's also highly rated by younger drinkers. A blessed cup watched over by the god of sake.
Pairs with：Miwa somen (fine wheat noodles) / Yamato jidori (local chicken)