Special Tasting Invitation

TOTAL TOJI TAKEOVER

We are excited to announce a special tasting event at our good friends P & V Wine & Liquor in Newtown.

On Wednesday 18th September Black Market Sake welcomes three brewers live & direct to pour a selection of their artisan Sake. 

This is an incredible opportunity to meet up close & personal the producers of some of Japan’s most acclaimed Sake. 

And the best thing is it’s free to attend with Sake and snacks, plus special offers available on these wonderful Sake to takeaway.

DETAILS

WEDNESDAY 18TH SEPTEMBER 2019

5:30pm - 8:00pm

P & V WINE & LIQUOR - 64 Enmore Road, Newtown, NSW 2042

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THE BREWERS

MORIKI SHUZO - MIE

Nearly all work in the Moriki Shuzō is done by hand, the same way their Sake has been made for centuries. Rumiko's motto is "a lot of hard work in the making of the best quality sake she can, means being honest to her customers".  It is truly a remarkable brewery with a wood fired boiler being used to steam the rice, wooden vats full of steamed rice are carried on the Moriki’s and their workers shoulders, including up wooden planks to get the rice into the fermentation tanks.  About 25% of their Sake production is from their own organically farmed rice, and the rest is sourced from areas that specialise in the particular rice variety that will produce the best result for the style of Sake they wish to brew.

Rumiko Moriki is the 4th generation of her family to own the brewery, and along with her husband Hideki, they are not only the Kuramoto [Brewery Owners] of this tiny brewery, they are also the Tōji [Master Brewers] of their hand crafted sake.

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AKISHIKA SHUZO - OSAKA

Akishika Shuzō was founded in Ōsaka prefecture in 1886 and under the present 6th generation Kuramoto [Brewery Owner] this tiny brewery is creating some of Japan’s most exceptional and unique sake. Hiroaki Oku is both Kuramoto and also Tōji [Master Brewer] at Akishika and his belief and skill in creating quality sake shows in every bottle. Akishika Shuzō is one of only a handful of sake breweries that follow the ‘Château concept’ as we see in wine production with Oku-san contracting 20 local farmers to grow rice for his sake in addition to the rice he grows himself. Two of these rice are the ‘King’ and ‘Queen’ of sake rice - Yamada Nishiki and Omachi. Although Oku-san has grown all of his rice organically for many years, from 2011 he has obtained certification for organic rice cultivation.

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MUKAI SHUZO - KYOTO

Mukai Shuzō is a tiny brewery with an exceptionally long history having been founded in 1754 and is still a family run business today.   The current Tōji [Master Brewer] is Kuniko Mukai who is the eldest daughter of the Kuramoto [Brewery Owner] Yoshihisa Mukai.  Kuniko left her hometown to study fermentation and brewing techniques at Tōkyō University of Agriculture and after graduation spent one year as a brewery worker before assuming the role of Tōji at her family's brewery in 1998.  Kuniko was one of the first women Master Brewers in Japan at the young age of 22, and by becoming Tōji at Mukai kept alive the family-run tradition at their brewery that has now been brewing for 265 years. She is an exceptionally creative brewer who makes Sake that are unique to her style.

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Akishika Shuzo - A humble star!

I often get asked what my favourite Sake is.

For us at Black Market Sake this is like asking which of your 'children' is you favourite - ALL OF THEM!

However if there is one person who epitomises real 'craft' in the Sake they produce, that person is the incredibly humble Hiroaki Oku - Kuramoto & Toji [Owner and Master Brewer] at Akishika Shuzo. When I make the trip to see Oku-san each year it undoubtably the one visit I most look forward to. He oversees the production of some of the most exciting and high-quality Sake available in the market in Japan and there are few who reach his elusive heights of elegance, complexity and ageability. 

It is with great pride that we are able to offer these exceptional Sake here in Australia.

Akishika Shuzo was founded in Osaka prefecture in 1886 and under Hiroaki Oku, the present 6th generation Kuramoto [Brewery Owner], this tiny brewery is creating some of Japan’s most exceptional and unique sake.  Oku-san is both Kuramoto and also Toji [Master Brewer] at Akishika and his belief and skill in creating quality sake shows in every bottle.  

Akishika Shuzo is one of only a handful of sake breweries that follow the ‘Château concept’ as we see in wine production with Oku-san contracting 20 local farmers to grow rice for his sake in addition to the rice he grows himself (over 25% of what he needs each year).  Two of these rice are the ‘King’ and ‘Queen’ of sake rice - Yamada Nishiki and Omachi.  Although Oku-san has grown all of his own rice organically for many years, from 2011 he has obtained certification for organic rice cultivation.

Oku-san only brews Junmai [pure rice] sake and as he doesn’t believe in carbon filtering his sake they are also all Muroka. All of the sake Oku-san creates are made with great structure, acidity and body and so are well suited to ageing.  Akishika Shuzo have 2 years worth of production ageing at any one time, a massive investment particularly for such a small brewery.  Oku-san only releases his sake when he believes they are ready. Sake from Akishika Shuzo have a cult status in the local area and also around Japan, so when Oku-san does release sake they sell out exceptionally quickly. We feel extremely privileged to enjoy them in Australia.

Hiroaki Oku - Kuramoto [Brewery Owner] & Toji [Master Brewer] at Akishika Shuzo

AKISHIKA SHUZO SELECTION: