A dream called terroir.

At Ishimoto Sake Brewery, our desire to use sake brewing to encourage local cultivation of Gohyakumangoku rice, and above all to make sake that our local community can enjoy with ease and pleasure, motivated our brewers to join local rice farmers in starting the Niigata City Oeyama District Gohyakumangoku Cultivation Research Association. Our ongoing efforts, under the guidance of prefectural and municipal authorities, seek to achieve stable production of high-quality brewing rice. We produce annual limited-edition sake under the name Kamedago Oeyamasan using 100% Oeyama-grown Gohyakumangoku rice we have helped farm ourselves. It embodies the spirit of Japanese sake terroir, crafted with the expertise of Echigo master brewers, reflecting the abundant natural characteristics of Niigata's winter snows, abundant snow-melt water, and long, sunny summers.

For autumn's long evening meals, or heartfelt New Year's gifting.

With its tanrei karakuchi (light and dry) flavor, it is vibrant at room temperature or chilled, while offering greater depth when warmed. It is truly the ideal sake for meals. It only comes out in autumn, and we highly recommend it with seasonal delights like autumn salmon or hotpot dishes. This is also a highly popular year-end gift in Niigata for showing gratitude and care for those who have been so important in the last year.

Tasting notes by sommelier Shinya Tasaki

Aroma

The first impression is one of mellow, elegant harmony, with fruity notes of lychee, pear, and hints of green melon. It also carries hints of banana cream, as well as floral notes of Japanese honeysuckle and wintersweet. Top notes show elegant rice-derived aromas such as rice flour and sweet dumplings harmonized with lactic notes carrying a sense of almond milk and whipped cream.

Flavor

The first gentle, rounded impression gives way to a light umami finish. The impression of a clean dryness typical of honjozo-style sake grows from the mid-palate, with a persisting creamy flavor like almond milk. It presents a clear expression of Gohyakumangoku rice character.

Drinking Recommendations

To enjoy the clean dryness, use a wineglass and drink at around 10°C. For a more rounded and fuller flavor, warm to 40-45°C.

Pairing Recommendations

When drinking at around 10°C, to share a refreshing, dry sense:

• Sweet shrimp sashimi with salt, lemon, or olive oil
• Sake-steamed whitefish with ponzu
• Salmon marinade

When drinking heated:

• Oyster hotpot with ponzu
• Poiret of bream with beurre blanc