Terada Honke 'Gonin Musume Shizen no Manma' Sake, Chiba, Japan

Established in 1670, Terada Honke made a decision about 30 years ago to part ways with the industrial brewing methods of postwar Japan and take sake back to its roots. 24th-generation kuramoto Terada Masaru is following in his predecessor’s footsteps, leading a brewery where the whole incredibly labor-intensive process is done by hand. The rice used is all organic, and most of it is polished far less than the average in the industry. Fermentation relies on brewery propagated kōji (a rarity) and either kimoto or bodaimoto fermentation methods, which when combined with the little-polished rice, results in tastes that are bold, full-bodied, and expressive with a signature high presence of lactic acid.

 Like most sake from Terada Honke, this sake tastes unlike any sake I've tried before. It's juicy, like pineapple juice, but also savory, like soy sauce or miso. Taste this sake at all temperatures. Let it age. Watch it evolve!