Zankyo Super 7 Sake

Sometimes our customers are very generous with us, and let us taste some of their exquisite purchases. This is Zankyo Super 7 Sake made by Niizawa Brewery in Miyagi Prefecture. It is called Super 7, because the rice polishing involved leaves 7% of the rice grain intact. Incredible. It takes 350 hours of rice polishing to achieve a level of 7% remaining and 93% removal. Niizawa Brewery tried making this sake using Yamadanishiki rice (the “standard” rice for making many premium sakes), however, the Yamadanishiki kept turning to dust! The solution was for them to use Kuranohana rice, which is very hard on the outside and porous on the inside. Having this sake being milled to 7% the brewers had to create special sifting equipment with almost imperceptable 1mm holes to keep the Kuranohana from disappearing. The result is Sake that is complex, but light on the palate, with notes of honeydew, coconut water, warm, expansive, dry (with a honeyed finish), and textured. This was undeniably delicious.