This sake uses rice polished down to 18% of the original grain size - the highest polishing ratio in the entirety of Japan. Furthermore, instead of blending the brewer only bottles the best portion of the pressed sake (called the "nakadori") as it holds the best flavor. With magnificent aromatics and a complex, brilliant flavor, Tatenokawa 18 is the essence of luxury. A true gem.=

In 1832, when the head of the Uesugi clan first visited the Shonai area, an area facing the sea and surrounded by mountains, he was so amazed by the amount of flat land and quality of the water available that he recommended sake production to first generation Heishiro. Heishiro started to make sake using water from a spring which he found at the base of a tree in a nearby shrine and serve it to visitors. This sake soon became so popular that visitors requested that he open a sake shop, which started officially trading in 1854. In 1855, the visiting Daimyo of the Sounai Clan, Sakai Tadakatsu was presented with the sake and in return christened the brand "TATENOKAWA" (English Name: CASTLE BROOK), which comes from the old name for the location of the brewery: Tateyama (Citadel Mountain); A Tate is another word for citadel or castle, of which there were once plenty in the region. Some of the ruins of these castles can be visited in a park open to the public — unfortunately no such brook or river actually exists.

Size 720ml Class Junmai Daiginjo 
Rice Yamada Nishiki Rice (kakemai) Yamada Nishiki Water Water from Mt.
Chokai Rice-Polishing Ratio 18% Yeast Yamagata
KA Sake Meter Value-2 Acidity 1.3 Amino Acids Level 0.7 Alcohol by Volume 15-16%
Aged 4 years Introduced in 2010 Brewery Location Yamagata Brewery Head Keisuke Kawana