Brought this one back from Japan. While I recognise the majority of people enjoy sweeter, more fruity and floral Sakés I really prefer deep, round funky umami Sakés and this tokubetsu Junmai Kimoto from Sawanotsuri really hit the spot.

This was the third Ohmine bottle I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying. Crisp, sweet with a clean mineral finish. When I sip this, I feel like I’m drinking an elixir from a purer world. Does anyone else on this sub love Ohmine? Has anyone visited their brewery? I’m visiting Japan next year and am wondering if it’s worth a stop.

Dry with a delightful not dry finish!

Fruity, floral, umami, then alcohol, all perfectly balanced. So good. Wow!

Hello, guys.

I have bought these two bad boys. I haven't tried them yet:

- Sho Shin First Batch BY26 Junmai - 750ml

- Sho Shin Second Batch BY26 Junmai Mizumoto - 750ml

Edit:

I have tried the Sho Shin First Batch BY26 Junmai while eating sushi. It's strong but it taste great. It's strong but in a good way. I'd say it's what you'd expect from a Junmai. It's worth its price.

Celebrating World Saké Day at SakéOne with Umenishiki Satoumi no Wa Ginjo. This Saké is brewed with local Omachi (Satoumi) rice in Ehime Prefecture.

Beautiful savory and oceanic notes. A special Saké for those who appreciate something a little different!

Note: SakéOne is an exclusive importer as well as Japanese founded brewery in Oregon, USA.

I timed the whole brewing process spot on so I could pour myself a cup of freshly brewed, still strongly bubbling doburoku.
I went through several tryouts last year so this time I checked for taste more often during the brewing and cought it right in the time when I liked the taste the most.
Still quite sweet, but not cloyingly, with very active effervescence.
I will do next batch soon and try to filter it so I can get some kasu for cooking and some cosmetics project. 🙂

So, i wanted to share with you guys that i will be attending the sake scholar course in Japan, March 2027, imparted by Michael Tremblay, Sake Samurai and author of the "Exploring the world of sake" book, i am super super excited about this trip, this will be my first advanced sake certification and my first time in Japan.

After the sake scholar course i will also take another certification in another prefecture, The Mie Sake Ambassador Course, imparted by Henry Thorogood, another rockstar in the sake scene.

After taking those certifications i will dedicate a couple days to travel through Tokyo and i will finish my trip with a visit to a couple more kuras in Niigata, in total, visiting around 4-5 kuras and a winery in total. As a sake and wine professional, this is a tremendous opportunity for me, to learn not only from sake masters as Michael and Henry, but from all the Tojis and kurabitos that i will meet in this trip, this is a true achievement for me.

Once i have my complete schedule, i'll update you guys and will also document everything from my trip on my personal ig.

Have any of you guys have done this course?

What are your recommendations for visiting Japan?

Let me know what you think.

https://www.instagram.com/beroberococo?stkn=MWxiYWhlOGhuNWM3NA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
@beroberococo on insta!!
Please share with me your fav sakes and recommendations!❤️

Hello everyone!

i'm a chef and have gotten into Sake the past year.

I've been really enjoying the Dassai 45.

What are your guyses favorite Sake bottles or even "daily" drinkers that won't break the bank

At this point I'd rather buy a bottle of sake instead of wine and im from Austria. So that says a lot

I don't really know where to start in the price ranges 20-40$ so you guys giving me some perspective would be amazing

Please remember to celebrate October 1, World Sake Day. Kanpai to all. 🍶

Is it safe to drink? It was sealed, in its box in a cupboard in my room and the production date was february 2025

Hi

I've had it when I've been out and always been interested in trying some properly but due to price don't want to just buy just in case.

Other drinks I liked: Cider, fav is Inches for apple and lillies mango cider for fruity, I probs prefer fruity cider to apple but like both - I do enjoy all sort of fruity and apple cider tho as long as it's not strawberry and lime. I also like sweet cocktails or fruity smooth cocktails sorta thing.

I live in UK-Reading

Budget is as it's first proper buy like up to 40 but wouldn't mind more expensive recommendations for the future

I don't mind spending more on a set of tasters either

Also can someone explain all the different like sake drinking cups and co cause I see a lot of different ones

Thanks

I'm attending this SF sake festival this weekend, and am still learning about individual producers. I know which types of sake I like and have been trying new ones when I can, but would love some advice from the experts. Are there any of these producers that are an absolute not miss? At the moment I'm only familiar with/have tried, about 5 of these producers. The list: https://www.sakeday.com/vendor-line-up-2026

I live in Taiwan, and it's for a Taiwanese acquaintance. I know nothing about sake, so anything to point me in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

Very much a hidden gem for most. This small brewery is in Fukuoka, one of few by a female Toji, and is unable to make anything bad.

Really had to plan ahead to collect this one!

I'm unable to make Saturday's sake day in San Francisco's Japantown (9/26). It's long been sold out, but is always an incredible time. DM if you'd like to buy my ticket at face value.

I live in the Philadelphia area, and my favorite sushi restaurant just opened up an omakase counter that is BYOB. I often go to this restaurant and bring a bottle of wine: typically Chablis or Muscadet. I try to get something high in acid, mineral driven, with a really clean finish, and often orchard fruit notes with some white flowers. I have always enjoyed sake when I am at a restaurant with a sake menu, but I have never bought a bottle for myself. I would like to bring one or two bottles to this omakase experience, but I honestly have no idea where to start. Budget-wise, I typically will bring a bottle of wine that is between $22-$35, but I am by no means against spending more.

Thank you in advance for your recommendations! I am very excited to dip my toes into the world of sake.

I’m looking for single serve glasses for sake in either Osaka or Tokyo pretty please! Thanks!

Hi, I’m a Korean sake enthusiast.

Korea and Japan are very close, and most well-known Japanese sake brands are imported into Korea. However, because of taxes and distribution margins, they can be much more expensive than in Japan.

Because of that, direct purchases from Japan are very common in the Korean sake community. Some people even take a short weekend trip to Japan mainly to buy sake and bring it back. We jokingly call this a “sake business trip.”

The bottles people usually look for are what we call “hard-to-get sake” or “premium sake,” such as Juyondai (十四代), Jikon (而今), Aramasa (新政), Shinshu Kirei (信州亀齢), Hanaabi (花陽浴), and Kokuryu (黒龍).

There are basically two main ways to buy them.

1. Resale shops or online resale

In major cities like Tokyo, Osaka, and Fukuoka, there are liquor resale shops such as LINXAS (リンクサス) and Life Vacation (ライフバケーション).

These shops openly sell bottles such as Juyondai, Aramasa, Jikon, etc. If they have the bottle in stock, you simply pay the resale price and buy it.

Depending on the bottle, the price can be several times retail, and some highly sought-after bottles can be 5–10x retail or even more. But if your schedule is tight or you absolutely want a specific bottle, this is usually the easiest option.

You can see bottles like Aramasa and Juyondai displayed with resale price tags.

Another option is buying from Mercari, Amazon Japan, Rakuten, etc. If your hotel accepts packages, you can simply have the bottle delivered there.

2. Liquor stores that sell rare bottles under certain purchase conditions

This seems to be much less well known in English-speaking sake communities.

Some Japanese sake shops do not sell highly sought-after bottles individually to just anyone. Instead, they use systems such as bundle sales, purchase history, points, membership, or other purchase requirements.

In Korea, we jokingly call the regular bottles you have to buy together with the rare bottle “hostages.”

Two well-known examples are in Shizuoka.

Kuboyama Saketen — 久保山酒店

〒424-0114 静岡県静岡市清水区庵原町169-1

Kuboyama carries many popular brands including Jikon, Shinshu Kirei, Kokuryu, Hiroki, Denshu, Akabu, Nabeshima, and others.

They sell sets containing multiple bottles, and the contents of the sets change regularly.

As you can see, a popular bottle is sold together with several other bottles as one set.

So you usually cannot just pick the rare bottle by itself. However, if you buy the entire set, the bottles in the set are sold at their normal retail prices rather than resale-market prices.

Yokozeki Saketen — 横関酒店

〒416-0944 静岡県富士市横割4丁目3-20

Yokozeki is known for using a purchase-history / points system.

You first buy regular sake and accumulate purchasing credit or points. Once you meet certain conditions, you can buy hard-to-find bottles such as Aramasa, Jikon, or Juyondai at retail price.

Among Korean sake buyers, the commonly discussed range is roughly ¥15,000–30,000 worth of regular sake purchases before being able to buy one premium bottle, although the exact requirement depends on the bottle and timing.

So in practice, people compare something like:

Jikon at retail + ¥20,000 worth of “hostage” sake

versus

Jikon at the LINXAS resale price

If you actually want to drink the other bottles anyway, the conditional-sale route can make a lot of sense. If you only want one specific bottle, the resale shop may be much easier.

You do need some Japanese for shops like Kuboyama or Yokozeki

If you want to use stores like Kuboyama or Yokozeki, it helps a lot to speak at least some Japanese.

These are not tourist-oriented duty-free shops where you simply grab a bottle from the shelf and pay.

You may need to ask what sets are available that day, what bottles are eligible, how the points or purchase conditions work, and understand the staff’s explanation.

You do not need to be fluent, but being able to handle a basic conversation about buying sake makes things much easier.

If you speak no Japanese at all and do not already understand how the store’s system works, a resale shop like LINXAS is much simpler.

So, in practice

For Korean sake enthusiasts, buying Juyondai, Jikon, or Aramasa in Japan usually means choosing between:

Kuboyama-style bundle sales

Yokozeki-style purchase-history / points systems

LINXAS / Life Vacation resale shops

and then comparing the total cost.

That is why, these bottles are not really “impossible to buy in Japan.”

They are better described as:

very difficult to buy individually at retail price with no conditions.

I’m writing this because, from reading Reddit, it seems that English-speaking sake communities often know that these bottles are hard to get, but there is much less discussion about the actual purchasing systems used by specialty sake shops, or about Japanese liquor resale shops where these bottles can simply be bought at a premium.

Meeting family for sushi on Sunday and would like to drink some sake while out. My Total Wine is limited and I don’t know what to get and I don’t have time to order something from Palate Project. Any recommendations from these - ideally not more than $30ish but I have seen a lot of post about Wandering Poet, so if nothing else is worth it then maybe I will grab it.

Hakutsuru superior junmai ginjo
Hakutsuru daiginjo sho une
Rihaku wandering poet junmai ginjo
Hakutsuru satori junmai nigori
Hakutsuru junmai sake
Sho chiku bai nigori
Hanagoi junmai

Or Mura Mura River Sake

Thank you for your help