Gozenshu Sake
normal range. Also they have revived the ancient ‘bodaimoto’ method which predates the kimoto method commonly thought of as the oldest. One of the only handful brewery in Japan currently making sake using bodaimoto method. It brings a counterbalancing tart or, sour note to the sweetness.
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Check out the video below
Okayama Region
Being from Okayama region they use mainly ‘Omachi’ rice (the birthplace of Omachi is Okayama) which is considered the queen of all rice, best grown in the region and has a unique delicious taste. It is hard to grow because of its extreme hight and thus easy to lose to hurricane damage. Omachi is a very old strain of rice which is grown, almost exclusively, in Okayama Prefecture.
Tsuji Honten excel in brewing this variety of rice and pride themselves on bringing out its rustic and earthy flavours. They offset the depth of flavour from the rice by using softer water from the Asahi River which is fed from the 110m high Kanba waterfall. Soft water generally produces clean and sweeter sake, thus, the juxtaposition of the two ingredients results in well-balanced, rich, clear tasting sake with buckets of umami.
In the future Tsuji Honten will concentrate and specialise in Omachi rice and Bodaimoto technique.
Shuzo
Their shuzo is located in Katsuyama, near to Maniwa which is in the centre of Okayama prefecture. Katsuyama town was chosen to be "one of the best 100 streets to stroll down" in Japan and it truly is a lovely place to visit. The beautiful buildings and streets were restored, in part, with funds raised by the Tsuji family. The town is famous for its bamboo basketry and also noren (traditional, fabric dividers hung on doors). The winters are mild with steady, average lows of just above freezing and gentle snow falls.