Saketime Regional Sake Ranking 2025 (2)

No.1

Abe

Niigata / Abe Sake Brewery

Rating 4.34 points (2947 reviews)

Abe Yuta, the sixth generation head brewer at Abe Sake Brewery in Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture, is a former employee of the restaurant search site "Gurunavi." He is working on innovative sake brewing, taking advantage of the marketing skills he honed at "Gurunavi," the first-hand information he gets from working directly with restaurants, and customer needs. The "Abe" series is all served unblended, with the aim of preserving the flavor of the rice. It is imbued with the desire for sake lovers to enjoy it.

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No.2

Furousen

Shiga / Uehara Sake Brewery

Rating 4.21 points (607 reviews)

Founded in 1862, the brewery sticks to traditional methods, brewing sake using natural microorganisms in the Yamahai style and yeast-free sake. What is surprising is that they use a rare method of pressing sake using a wooden tank balance, which is now used by only a few companies nationwide. This method involves placing a wooden balance with a weight attached, measuring 3.5 meters in length and 1.2 meters in height, on top of stacked wooden tanks containing sake bags, and using the principle of the balance to gently press the sake slowly over a period of three days. It was worth it, as the sake has no unpleasant flavors and has a silky smooth mouthfeel. "Furoisen" is often of the aged variety, but it is characterized by its rich flavor and firm taste.

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No.3

Haneya

Toyama / Fumigiku Brewery

Rating 4.2 points (1476 reviews)

Founded in 1916, the company uses spring water from the Jōganji River system, which originates from the Tateyama mountain range. The limited edition brand "Haneya" for the national market is the name of the brewery Haneya. In order to express the terroir of Toyama's local sake, "Junmai Daiginjō 50 Tsubasa" and "Junmai Ginjō Kirabi" are brewed entirely with "Gohyakumangoku" rice from Toyama Prefecture. In addition to "Etchu Yamada Nishiki" made from Yamada Nishiki rice grown in Toyama Prefecture, the company also offers a lineup using the prefecture's original sake-brewing rice "Tominoka", and boasts a number of awards in competitions both domestically and internationally. "Junmai Daiginjo 50 Tsubasa" is also used in the JAL First Class Lounge.

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No.4

Zaku

Mie / Shimizu Seizaburo Shoten

Rating 4.18 points (2956 reviews)

The brewery, Shimizu Seizaburo Shoten having been founded in 1869. They brew in small tanks all year round except August. Of the two major brands of the brewery, "Saku" and "Suzukagawa," the "Saku" series, which was branded in 2000, is a modern style with a refreshing citrus fruit aroma, minerality, juicy acidity, and a pleasant crispness. While based on pasteurization, which tends to stabilize the quality, it maintains a fresh and juicy texture like freshly pressed sake. They offer a wide variety of sakes with different raw rice and yeast, At the G7 Ise-Shima Summit held in 2016, the series' top Junmai Daiginjo "Satori" was chosen as the toast sake, and it quickly became a popular brand.

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No.5

Takachiyo

Niigata / Takachiyo Sake Brewery

Rating 4.17 points (2947 reviews)

Takachiyo Shuzo's signature brand, "Takachiya," is a sake that has been loved mainly in Niigata Prefecture. The ingredients are high-quality sake rice such as "Ippon-jime," a rare sake rice in Japan, procured from contracted farmers, and "Miyama Nishiki" from Nagano Prefecture. All of the rice is polished in-house using the flat rice polishing method, and the sake brewed with carefully made koji has a gentle aroma and a refreshing taste. "Takachiyo Junmai Daiginjo Yamada Nishiki 45% Polished Rice Pasteurized" has a good balance of mellow rice flavor and acidity, making it a bottle that you will never get tired of drinking.

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No.6

Tedorigawa

Ishikawa / Yoshida Sake Brewery

Rating 4.11 points (916 reviews)

Using the rich underground waters of the Tedori River, which originates from the sacred mountain Hakusan, Yoshidakura is the only remaining sake brewery in Yamashima Village (now Yasuyoshi Town), once known as a sake brewing village. Their representative brand, "Tedorigawa," is based on "Yamada Nishiki" and "Gohyakumangoku," and the seventh generation owner, Yasuyuki Yoshida, has announced a new brand, "Yoshidakura U." Using sake rice varieties "Ishikawamon" and "Hyakumangokunoshiro" from Ishikawa Prefecture and yeast from Kanazawa as a base, the brewery is pursuing a new terroir known as "modern yamahai."

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No.7

Tamagawa

Kyoto / Kinoshita Sake Brewery

Rating 4.07 points (698 reviews)

This sake is brewed by Philip Parker, a British brewer who is one of the main characters in the documentary film "Kanpai! Sake that the World Loves". Parker is a graduate of Oxford University and the only foreign brewer in the world. He eventually qualified as a Nanbu brewer and became the brewer at Kinoshita Sake Brewery in Kyotango City, Kyoto Prefecture. Tamagawa's sake is characterized by its rich, strong flavor, with a strong acidity and umami taste, making it very satisfying to drink. After opening, it matures, but does not deteriorate. The longer it is left, the more the umami flavor will come out and the deeper the flavor will become. It is also recommended to warm it. It is a sake that does not need a refrigerator.

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No.8

KID

Wakayama / Heiwa Shuzo

Rating 4.07 points (1977 reviews)

This sake brewery is located in an area surrounded by the Kishu mountains, and is one of the most popular umeshu breweries. They use high-quality soft groundwater for their brewing, and aim to create sake that is as vivid, fresh, fruity, and delicious as the water. "Kido Junmai Daiginjo Yamada Nishiki" has the aroma of a daiginjo and a beautiful fullness. "Kido Junmai Daiginjo Sparkling," which won the grand prize at the "Sake-1 Grand Prix" held at Matsuo Taisha Shrine in Kyoto, has a harmonious balance of sweetness and acidity due to secondary fermentation in the bottle. It is just the right sake for a toast.

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No.9

Sawaya Matsumoto

Kyoto / Matsumoto Sake Brewery

Rating 4.05 points (1322 reviews)

The sake brewery, located along the Takase River in Fushimi, Kyoto, is a quaint building that has been recognized as a modern industrial heritage site by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry as "Fushimi Sake Brewing Heritage." The signature product, "Sawaya Matsumoto Junmaishu Shuhari," has a citrus aroma, clean acidity, and the flavor of rice. Shuhari means to embrace innovation while preserving tradition. It goes well with dishes garnished with yuzu or lemon, such as sashimi and grilled white fish.

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No.10

Akishika

Toyama / Fumigiku Brewery

Rating 3.81 points (662 reviews)

Founded in 1886 in Nose Town, the northernmost part of Osaka Prefecture. In 2003, they switched to making all Junmai sake. 40% of the rice is grown in their own 25 hectares of rice paddies, using organic compost (rice husks, rice bran, sake lees, etc.) produced in-house without the use of pesticides or chemical fertilizers. They currently produce Yamada Nishiki and Omachi. In years when the rice melts, they make it melt more, and in years when it does not melt as much as possible, which results in a rich, mellow taste with sharp acidity and a crisp aftertaste. It is an all-purpose drink that can be enjoyed with meals and the flavor does not change even if the temperature is changed.

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