Nakazawa shuzo S. Tokyo Junmai Ginjo Sake

There’s a little bit of sake history hiding inside this bottle.

Nakazawa Shuzo was established in 1825 in the foothills of the Tanzawa Mountains, near the historic castle town of Odawara in Kanagawa Prefecture. Now in the hands of the 10th and 11th generations of the family, the brewery continues to make sake with a wonderfully traditional touch, using gentle, hands-on techniques such as Hako Koji, Funashibori pressing, and hand pasteurization in tobin bottles.

But the real story here is the yeast.

Saccharomyces tokyo Nakazawa was discovered in 1909 by a distant ancestor of the Nakazawa family while researching fermentation in Germany. Remarkably, the strain sat quietly in the history books for more than a century without ever being used to brew sake. The 11th generation eventually brought it back to life with the idea of creating a commemorative sake for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. So, in a way, you’re drinking a little piece of sake history that waited over 100 years for its moment.

And thankfully, the story inside the glass is just as interesting. The nose is wonderfully lively and expressive, with ripe peach, pear, melon, persimmon, quince, apricot and tangerine, followed by touches of powdered sugar, vanilla and delicate florals. On the palate, it’s juicy and refreshing, with the sweetness of ripe Muscat grapes balanced by that unmistakable savory umami character that reminds you this is still very much sake—not fruit juice pretending to be one. The finish is long and layered, with the fruit slowly giving way to deeper, more traditional sake flavors.

Made from Miyamanishiki rice polished to 55% and bottled at 14.5% ABV, this is a Junmai Ginjo with one foot firmly planted in tradition and the other reaching more than a century back into sake history. Not many bottles come with that kind of family story—and even fewer taste this good while telling it.