Tsugu is a prestige release from Asahi Shuzo Sake Brewing, a Niigata brewery established in 1830 in the snow-country district of Koshiji and long associated with the tanrei-karakuchi philosophy of light, dry sake. Only 2,500 bottles are produced each year, all classified as junmai daiginjo and made from Koshitanrei rice, a cross of Yamada Nishiki and Gohyakumangoku developed specifically for Niigata brewing. Asahi Shuzo describes Tsugu as capturing the best conditions of the Koshiji terroir combined with the brewery's highest level of technical craft.
