Yunagi Shochu 25% 500ml

Yahiko Shuzo brews in the village of Yahiko, at the foot of Mount Yahiko in Niigata, and has done since 1838. In 1848 the founder settled on his own brewing method, Izumi-ryu, named for the izumi — the spring water protected at the base of the mountain. It was a departure at the time, giving sake that was pale, fine-boned and able to keep.

The water remains the signature: exceptionally soft even by Japanese standards, at around 1.1 German degrees of hardness, which makes for a slow, gentle ferment and a quiet, clean style rather than a showy one. The brewery supplies the sacred sake for Yahiko Shrine, which stands at the same mountain's foot. Alongside the Izumiryu and Iyahiko sake it also makes a shochu and a local plum wine.