Kenbishi

With anincredible history spanning five centuries and as many families, Kenbishi Shuzo represents the oldest sake still in operation in Japan. Its foundation dates back to as far as 1505, the beginning of the second Eisho era, and over the centuries Kenbishi Shuzo has perfected its production techniques in order to always offer the best sake possible, inspired by its customers' constant love for its products. It all began in Itami, a town in Hyogo Prefecture that was already known in the Kanbun era, over 350 years ago, for the high quality of its sake, the place where the business was started under the name 'Inaderaya', the surname of the founding family. The appellation 'Kenbishi' was instead given to it during the late Edo period, more than three centuries after its birth. In the first half of the 20th century, the location was then moved from the city of Itami to the Nada district in the city of Kobe, famous for its countless sakaguras. Despite the change of location, the original and identifying taste of Kenbishi Shuzo sake has always remained unchanged. Also peculiar is the meaning of the very old sakagura logo, with the upper part of the design symbolising men and the lower part representing women.

The brewing process of Kenbishi Shuzo sake begins with the local cultivation of rice by trusted farmers. After polishing, which is essential to remove external impurities from the grain, the rice is slowly steamed for about 2 hours in a traditional woodenkoshiki, a rarity these days. At this point we proceed with the inoculation of the Koji mushroom, which will break down the complex sugars into fermentable simple sugars by indigenous yeasts during the slow alcoholic fermentation, still conducted with traditional practices by the sakagura. The water used is Miyazumi water, which is able to impart a unique flavour to the sake thanks to its high mineral content. The production cycle is finally completed by pressing the fermented rice, an operation to separate the liquid and solid parts.

Sake from the Kenbishi Shuzo brand is characterised by itsexceptional balance of smoothness and umami taste, with a beautiful tension and ancestral flavour related to the very essence of sakagura sake.