Dewatsuru Sakura Emaki

In the romantic snow country of Akita Japan, just 5 minutes from Akita Seishu Brewery, in Daisen is the ancient ruins of Hotta No Saku, an active fort built for the Yamato Imperial Court in the Heian Era,792-1185AD. When it was excavated, 1000 year old “Murasaki Mai,”' purple rice grains' from faraway lands in southeast Asia were found. These grains were the origins of purple rice strains developed over a millennium to grow in northern regions. In 1996 the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries along with the Association for the Revitalization of ancient rice petitioned Akita Seishu brewery to craft sake made with this ancient heirloom purple rice strains. Honored and inspired, Mr. Ito challenged his master sake brewers to capture the magnificent cherry-blossom-blush of color of this ancient rice. So Sakura Emaki came to be. Sakura means cherry blossom and refers to the beautiful flower, so emblematic of Japan, while Emaki refers to the illustrated scrolls on which the first ever novel The Tales of Genji were written and preserved. Enjoy a bottle of this unique sake and write your own great tale. Kanpai! With a beautiful and enticing pink hue derived from the color of the rice, this sakes has elegant aromas of cherry and plum blossoms, underscored by notes of apples and berries. On the palate, the sake is silky smooth with a touch of sweetness that is balanced by a crisp acidity and a light texture that create a balanced, transcendent sake.