Gozenshu 1859 Saké - 720ml

Gozenshu 1859, a sake that marks the transition in sake production at Tsuji Honten. Being creative and innovative is essential to meet the needs of the time. The master craftsmen of Tsuji Honten began to ask themselves what "unwavering nobility and beauty" they must pursue in order to continue brewing perpetually where they are, while reflecting on the legacy to leave for future generations.
To perfect their craft and purify every aspect of it, the answer becomes clear: to prioritise the Omachi rice variety while converting all of their sake production to Bodaimoto brewing.
Bodaimoto brewing, for the Gozenshu (sake of the Lords), is a medieval technique for making the starter culture (Shubo, Moto) that was common 1,000 years ago, consisting of mixing malted rice into a large quantity of pure water.
For our Gozenshu 1859, the malted rice is placed in a cloth and then soaked in a vat of pure water for 10 to 25 days, during which naturally occurring lactic bacteria and yeasts present in the environment charge it with lactic acid. The acidity of the water (pH) can then rise to as high as 6.5. This acidic water is called "soyashi" or "soyashimizu" water. It enables the creation of the starter culture, or sake mother. It promotes the development of beneficial yeasts and prevents the formation or appearance of harmful bacteria. The addition of steamed rice and kōji will allow the creation of the shubo (starter culture, sake mother). The kobo (yeast) is then added and will give rise, 10 to 14 days later, to the moromi.
From this moromi the sake is extracted. "1859" corresponds to the birth of Omachi rice.
It was at this time that a farmer from Bizen (Okayama Prefecture), Jinzo Kishimoto, discovered and cultivated two rice plants, known today as Omachi, whose quality is nationally renowned in Japan.
The municipalities of Setocho and Akasaka in the former Akaiwa district, located to the south-east of Okayama, are known for producing the finest Omachi rice.
Over the past 25 years, Tsuji Honten has partnered with Setocho Omachi Bukai (the Setocho farmers' study group on specialty Omachi rice) for the supply of its rice.
In 2019, the 160th anniversary of the discovery of the Omachi rice variety, they jointly launched a new project entitled "Tokujo Omachi Project" to create speciality-grade Omachi rice.
In the early 1980s, Tsuji Honten was at the forefront of the revival of the Bodaimoto method, which had been lost at the beginning of the Showa period (1926–1989). Although approximately 40% of their sake had been brewed using this method, they are convinced that this ancient brewing technique holds infinite possibilities.
By entering the very heart of their brewing philosophy and returning to a classical method as such, Tsuji Honten is poised to take the world by surprise by revealing a deeper and more fascinating world of sake.
To launch the "100% Bodaimoto" plan, the Gozenshu were born.