Takatenjin Tokubetsu Honjozo "Sword of the Sun"
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Takatenjin's Tokubetsu Honjozo has a round, buttery nose, with notes of sweet almond and marzipan. The palate is similar: cream, butter, and marzipan, but also this lovely fruit... wafty, distant notes of white peach, canteloupe, white grapefruit, asian pear, and banana. Then something interesting too, a bit of cucumber and mint. Light, delightful, unbelievably smooth and clean.
Double pasteurized, brewed from 60% polished rice, using Yamadanishiki from Hyogo for the koji and Yamagata Haenuki for the kakemai. The water is extremely soft and the style is considered to be kirei, “pretty” style. For this product they use a yeast developed at this brewery by the former toji, who was widely considered one of the 5 most influential and prominent toji of his day, training countless acolytes. The yeast, HD-1, is named for the toji (Hase) and the brewery (Doi) and a few decades ago led the way to Shizuoka’s dominance in sake awards for nearly a decade.Â
Prefecture: Shizuoka
Rice: Yamada Nishiki (for the koji) & Haenuki (for the main mash)
Polishing: 60%
Yeast: HD-1
Fermentation Starter: Sokujo
Alcohol 15.5%
Water hardness: ~1.9 dH
Grade: Honjozo
Doi Shuzo, founded in 1868, is known for environmentally friendly practices including solar power, on-site water treatment, and using renewable resources. Shizuoka is located near Mt. Fuji and is famous for having the most sunshine year-round. This abundance of sunshine, and being a solar powered shuzo, inform the brand name, "Sword of the Sun." Shizuoka is also famous for its wasabi fields, tea production, eel and other seafood, and of course high concentration of excellent sake brewers: all 4 a consequence of the region's excellent, pure water.
