Zao Shuzo was founded in 1873 at the foot of the Zao Mountains in Shiroishi City, Miyagi Prefecture, where soft water from the Shiroishi River and locally grown sake rice varieties cultivated in partnership with young regional farmers form the basis of every batch. The brewery has earned Gold Prizes 29 times at the Annual Japan Sake Awards, a cumulative total that places Zao Shuzo 11th in the national rankings. In a distinctive closed-loop practice, the sake lees left after pressing are returned to the rice paddies as fertilizer, so that the brewery's sake becomes rice again.
