Sake Spotlight : GOZENSHU Tokuto Omachi 2.2

The Gozenshu Tokuto Omachi 2.2 wows everyone with it's immerse dedication and beautiful woodwork. Let's hear what Tsuji Honten has to say about their creation. 

Excerpt from "The Story of Tokuto Omachi 2.2" by Tsuji Honten: 

Let's aim to the top of Omachi

Last year, we launched the "Tokujo Omachi Project" to promote both Omachi rice, a premium sake rice grown primarily in Okayama Prefecture, and local Okayama craft. For more than 200 years, Gozenshu has pursued our sake brewing values, "Brewing rooted in local ingredients, climate, and skill" to reach new levels. We are finally releasing a sake that captures this never-ending quest in a single point in time, in 2020.

Background: Creating unprecedented value in sake

In June 2019, we launched the "Tokujo Omachi Project" to help support the skilled industries of agriculture, sake brewing, and woodworking, all of which are part of Okayama’s heritage.

This project is a venture to create the very highest quality products, and to pass their production on to future generations. Our goal was to create new value in sake, and to do that we brought together exceptional local ingredients and skills to brew the future of sake together.  One year and three months after its conception, the idea has finally taken shape. We are proud to present Gozenshu Tokujo Omachi 2.2.

Roots and Dreams: Agriculture

We contacted Mr. Iwao Okamoto of Seto-cho Omachi division to achieve a crop of Omachi graded tokujo, the highest possible grade. Unfortunately, the 2019 crop only achieved a rating of tokuto, the second highest class, but we still feel we got the highest possible quality. The 2.2 of Tokujo Omachi 2.2 is the size of the sieve used when drying and preparing the rice. Normally the size of the sieve is 2.1 mm, but we used a special 2.2 mm mesh so that only the largest of the grains were included to brew with.

Sake Brewing :

We have been using Omachi rice since 1995, but this is our first time to use Omachi of such high quality. In order to best bring out its unique qualities, we felt we should use as natural a process as possible. Thus, we decided to brew using the ancient Bodaimoto method, which incorporates naturally occurring lactic acid bacteria into the brewing process.

Woodworking: "The best container for the best sake.

” Maniwa City has a long history of forestry and wood working. Today, it is known throughout the country as a biomass producer, and its wood was used in the new National Stadium, where the Tokyo Olympics will be held. The wooden container for this ultimate sake is made from hinoki cypress forested from Maniwa. We commissioned the passionate and creative Motoi couple of Mokkobo Momonotane, a local woodworking workshop, to create a one-of-a-kind octagonal wooden canister design for our sake, and it took more than a year to complete the design and production. We believe that sake brewing rooted in local ingredients, communities, and climate can lead to a richer life for both local farmers, and the consumers who enjoy the results.

This bottle is filled with our dreams for the future of Gozenshu, and Okayama.
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You can purchase the sake here and see other sakes from Tsuji Honten here!