05/02/202202/02/2023

 Carefully selected Yamada Nishiki of Special AAA, Approaching the charm of the sake “Kikuhime" that seeks the ultimate without a model

If you like sake, you may know “Yamada Nishiki", which is famous as rice suitable for sake brewing. “Kikuhime" is a sake that luxuriously uses Yamada Nishiki of “Special AAA", which is considered to be the highest rank of Yamada Nishiki’s special A area designation.

What exactly is “Kikuhime"?

the “ultimate" golden sake that was born as a result of eliminating compromises, sticking to the materials and equipment of the brewery, and continuing to refine the techniques and teamwork of the brewers?

Contents

What is “Kikuhime"?

Pride as a kuramoto of “Kikuhime Joint Stock Company"

Introducing recommended products of “Kikuhime"!

What is “Kikuhime"?

“Kikuhime" is the first name to be mentioned when it comes to Kaga’s famous sake. It is characterized by its golden appearance and the umami that was born by sticking to rice.

Inheriting Kaga Kikushu, the best sake in Japan

Kikuhime’s “菊 Kiku (chrysanthemum)" comes from Kaga Kikushu, which was traditionally said to be “the best sake in Japan" in Kaga (Ishikawa Prefecture). The reason why Kaga Kikushu is a famous sake is in water.

Do you know one of the three famous mountains in Japan, “Sacred Mountain Hakusan"?
Hakusan straddles Ishikawa, Fukui, Gifu and Toyama prefectures, and its natural environment is highly evaluated internationally.

In Ishikawa Prefecture, which is located at the foot of the mountain, cold and pure water rinsed with snow from Mt. Hakusan flows. It can be said that the crystallized version of this life water is “Kaga’s Kikushu, the best sake in Japan."

There are various legends about Kaga Kikushu, but the people who have inherited the name of chrysanthemum have continued to make good sake. It is said that it was named “Kikuhime" after “Kikushu" and “Kukurihime" to convey the tradition to the present.

Pride as a kuramoto “Kikuhime Joint Stock Company"

They define sake brewing as child-rearing, stick to all technologies, equipment, and people, be willing to invest money and time!
The long-established store “Kikuhime Joint Stock Company" has continued to make the ultimate sake.

What is “Kikuhime Joint Stock Company"?

Kikuhime Joint Stock Company was founded as “Koyanagiya" between 1570 and 1600 (Azuchi-Momoyama period). Its history is 450 years!
It is characterized by the lack of compromise in sake brewing and the importance of setup rather than emotion.

“Kikuhime Joint Stock Company" is trying to maximize the original taste of sake by continuing to seek the best rice, not content with only being blessed with mountain water.

The hiring policy for brewers has also changed to hire mainly from the Faculty of Science and Engineering, and they are raising “Sake Meisters". It can be said as a sake brewery that combines tradition and technology, evolves sake, and aims for the ultimate.

Yamada Nishiki Commitment to special AAA

There are as many as 20 types of rice in Japan that are suitable for sake brewing. Among them, there is no rice that exceeds “Yamada Nishiki" yet.
Therefore, Yamada Nishiki is very popular and traded at a high price.

Then, can anyone make delicious sake with Yamada Nishiki? No, Kikuhime aims above that.

Yamada Nishiki is ranked according to the region and climate in which the rice is grown.
Kikuhime uses Yamada Nishiki from “Yoshikawa" of “Special AAA", which is designated as the highest rank among the special A area designations.

Yoshikawa City is the birthplace of Yamada Nishiki. The best conditions for cultivating Yamada Nishiki are met, and there are also Tokunoka farmers who have been passionate about growing Yamada Nishiki in history, so they can harvest the best Yamada Nishiki.

If you stick to “special AAA", the price will inevitably go up. But they invest generously in it because they are always aiming for the best and the ultimate.

Kikuhime Joint Stock Company does not compromise to meet the expectations of fans who are looking for the best.

A combination of handmade and technology

In today’s world, every task is automated and streamlined by technology. If you automate it, you can make a lot of “some quality" products in a short time, and you can sell a lot.

Kikuhime also has the industry’s latest high-tech equipment in the brewery. However, Kikuhime is aloud against mass production and mass consumption. That “high tech" was introduced because “handmade" was given top priority.

Controlling temperature and humidity is very important in sake brewing. Kikuhime Joint Stock Company manages these items 24 hours a day under the supervision of a computer.

Sake brewing also uses technology. The sake brewery is made with an ergonomic room design so that the work stress of the brewer is minimized in a manual environment.

On the other hand, there is also a manual process. For example, the process of washing and soaking rice, which deals with raw materials. If you wash the rice with a machine, the rice will break and the rest of the process will not go well. Such delicate work is done manually.

In this way, Kikuhime Joint Stock Company manufactures Kikuhime by combining technology and manual work. The introduction of technology was one way to do manual work more efficiently, isn’t it?