Niizawa Jōzōten
Atago no Matsu Betsushikomi Honjōzō
Alcoholic
Beverages
Atago no Matsu Betsujikomi Honjōzō is a honjōzō sake produced by the Japanese brewery Niizawa Jōzōten. The name betsujikomi (“separately brewed”) dates back to the original brewery, where fermentation tank No. 63 consistently produced particularly good batches. Although that tank is no longer in use, the brewery still selects its best batches for this sake and retains the “Tank No. 63” label on the bottle.
It is made with Japanese rice polished to 60% of its original size and has an alcohol content of 15%. Its nihonshu-do value, a measure of perceived sweetness and dryness, is +5.
It has a mild banana-like aroma, a light taste and a crisp, clean finish. The brewery recommends pairing it with seafood, meat and braised dishes.
Producer
Niizawa Jōzōten is a Japanese sake brewery founded in 1873 in Ōsaki, Miyagi Prefecture. It produces sake and liqueurs, and its best-known brands are Hakurakusei and Atago no Matsu. The company’s headquarters remain in Ōsaki, while sake production moved to a brewery in Kawasaki in 2011 after the original brewery was severely damaged by an earthquake.
Its guiding idea is “sake to enjoy with food”: the sake should complement a meal and refresh the palate between bites. The brewery uses a flat rice-polishing technique (henpei seimai) to remove parts of the grain that can produce unwanted flavours while preserving its umami. It stores its sake at −5 °C to maintain freshness.
The brewery sells its sake throughout Japan and began exporting Hakurakusei and Atago no Matsu in 2005. It continues to focus on improving quality and introducing its food-friendly sake to international audiences.
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