NV Koshi Tsukano Shuzo Hirai Junmai Niigata 750 ml.

Let us tell you this: If you aren’t drinking sake, start now.

The best sakes deliver all of the aromatic complexity, sophistication, and terroir of the world's best wines, and deserve to be enjoyed in the same way: great stemware, excellent company, and perfectly paired food.

Hirai Junmai is from Niigata, the Napa of Japan. Prized for its pristine water, its immaculate reservoirs are filled with snowmelt from remote mountain ranges. Sake brewers transform this water into elegant and captivating styles with pure, defined flavors.

Like great wines, a sake of this character pairs with anything, from pizza to Thai food or even spaghetti and meatballs. Its richness on the palate and powerful flavors (thanks to the incredible quality of rice and water used to craft this junmai), make this sake magical.

The word junmai literally translates to "pure rice" (jun mai), meaning no additives go into this bottling. Like wine, great sake begins with simple ingredients: Rice defines the richness and focus, water provides the enviable silken texture, yeast creates the aromas, and koji, the Japanese term for the transition from starch to sugar, is responsible for alcoholic fermentation.

Hirai Junmai utilizes Gohyakumangoku rice, which provides roundness and structure. The second ingredient, yeast, is a strain known as Emperor Sake—a highly prized variety that gives aromas of peach blossom, pineapple, and guava. Add to that the softness of the water, and the final product is simply memorable.

The Koshi Tsukano Brewery was established in 1781 with the sole purpose of crafting the best sake they could possibly deliver, and in our opinion, they've done it.