Born Chōgin is a sake made by Katō Kichibee Shōten in Sabae, Fukui Prefecture, Japan. It belongs to the junmai daiginjō category and is one of the Born brand’s most prestigious releases. Produced in limited quantities, it is available by reservation.
It is made from contract-grown Yamada Nishiki rice from Hyōgo Prefecture’s highest-grade growing area, polished until 20% of each grain remains. The final blend includes sake aged for approximately five years at −10 °C. Its ingredients are rice and rice kōji, with no added distilled alcohol.
Chōgin has a rich aroma and a deep, rounded flavour, with a smooth texture developed through long ageing at a very low temperature. It is best served chilled, at 0–10 °C.
Producer
Katō Kichibee Shōten is a family-run sake brewery in Sabae, Fukui Prefecture, Japan. It has been producing sake since 1860, and its sake is now sold under the Born name. The Katō family has run the business for eleven generations.
The brewery makes sake exclusively from rice, without additives, and places particular emphasis on rice polishing: on average, 34% of each grain remains after polishing. The name Born, once reserved for its finest sake, was adopted across the entire range in 1963. The brewery began selling daiginjo sake commercially in the late 1960s and introduced a sake aged for three years in 1971. Its range today includes several junmai styles, among them aged and sparkling sake.
Born is sold in Japan and internationally, and its products have received numerous international awards.
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