Imanishiki

This brewery is #9 in the World Sakagura Ranking and 3 of the sake earned gold medals in this year's IWC. The name of the Yonezawa Sake Brewery’s main brand, Imanishiki, comes from the sumo-name used by the founder, who was the prominent sumo-wrestler of the local region.

When tasting their sake, you can tell that the brewery utilises clean pure water that has been blessed from being located directly between the Central and Southern Alps of Japan. Most of their sake is made using locally grown Miyamanishiki sake rice while also utilising a few rare sake rices such as Kinmonnishiki to make some of their sake.

As a brewery in general, their sake can characterised as being rich with umami while striking the ideal balance of umami and acidity.