Ikkomon (honkaku shochu, sweet potato) won the "Gold Medal"

*honkaku shochu: It is made through single distillation. This method retains the unique flavor and aroma of the original ingredient.

Sho Chiku Bai REI Junmai Daiginjo won the "Gold Medal" with 92 points

As seen on Wine Spectator magazine on August 31st issue (Vol.40, No.6), 2016.

• Different Temperatures, Different Types
• Sake and Japan's 19th Century Food Renaissance
• Sake-Making and Flavor
• The Junmai-Type Sake-Making Process
• The Ginjo-Type Sake-Making Process
• Fact of Fallacy: Different Temperatures for Different Sake Types
• "Tasting" Cluture

As seen on Wine Spectator magazine on September 30th issue (Vol.40, No.7), 2015.

• Sake Culture Comes to America
• Junmai and Ginjo: The Two Primary Sake Types
• California Rice: The Heart of Sho Chiku Bai Sake
• Thinking Forward: Product Innovations and Future Markets

Shakuhachi flute Concert by Riley Lee and Ensohza group
Evening of performance and sake tasting.

When: May 12, 2018 (Saturday) 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm (5:30 pm door open)
Where: Takara Sake Tasting Room, 708 Addison Street, Berkeley, CA 94710 (Street parking only)
Admission & Sake Tasting: $20.00/person, $7.00/person (3-21 years old)

Purchase Tiket: https://store.takarasake.com/event-tickets-c11.... Read More

June 5, 2013—Sho Chiku Bai Rei, Junmai Ginjo Draft brewed by Takara Sake USA Inc. was awarded the Gold Medal Award in the Junmai Ginjo category of the 2013 Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition. Out of all the 64 entries, Sho Chiku Bai Rei was the only sake made in the U.S. to win the award.

The 74th Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition is an international annual event, and one of the most prestigious in the United States. An esteemed panel of... Read More

A reader wanted to know where to buy “real mirin (without sugar added),” suggesting that only liquor stores could carry it. Like most home cooks who make Japanese dishes, I had a bottle of mirin, the Japanese rice wine, for cooking, from a food store and did not know there was any other kind. None of my cookbooks said a thing about different mirins.

After unsuccessfully trying to find this “real mirin” at wine shops, I turned to Rick Smith, an owner of Sakaya, a sake shop in the East... Read More

MIO Sparkling Sake (by Shirakabe Gura- Sho Chiku Bai)
- A New Traditional Sparkling Sake-

We sought a good balance of sweet and sour, and created sparkling sake which is easy to drink. Its alcohol content is only 5% (normally sake’s alcohol content is 15-17%), and MIO doesn’t have a strong sake taste, so it would be a great for customers who are new to sake.

MIO has been very popular in Japan, and we’re hoping that American customers also enjoy our new sparkling sake.... Read More

Sho Chiku Bai Classic, brewed by Takara Sake USA Inc. was awarded the highest prize in the Junmai category of the 2011 U.S. National Sake Appraisal. Out of all 326 entries, Sho Chiku Bai Classic was the only sake made in the U.S. to win the Gold Award at the 2011 U.S. National Sake Appraisal.

... Read More

Takara Sake USA Inc. has completed the expansion and improvement of its production facilities. Construction for the expansion commenced in 2009, and in two years, capacity for production has increased 1.5 times from 5,000KL to 7,500KL.

Since its inception in 1983, Takara Sake USA Inc., located in Berkeley, California, has been engaged in the production and sales of sake, mirin, plum wine and other products. Takara Sake USA Inc. also imports products from its parent company, Takara... Read More

Takara Sake participated in the 8th U.S. National Sake Appraisal event receiving multiple awards for its sakes. Takara received the Gold Award for ShirakabeGura DaiGinjo, Gold Award for ShirakabeGura Tokubetsu Junmai, and Silver Awardsfor both ShirakabeGura Tokubetsu Junmai Kimoto, and ShirakabeGura Tokubetsu Junmai Yamahai.

A wine writer, Lynn Hoffman, and teacher wrote in his new book, The New Short Course in Wine, it’s a book about his pleasant discovery of Sho Chiku Bai Nigori, Silky–Mild and Sho Chiku Bai, Classic. He noted these sakes as his choice of pairing with sushi.

Why on earth would anyone talk about sake on a wine blog? Sake, as I'm sure you know, is a drink made from rice. The brewing process uses an starch-breaking enzyme in tandem with the fermenting yeast. It sounds like a beer-... Read More