Kikumasamune Kimotoshiboritate

Kiku-Masamune was founded in 1659 in Nada, Kobe, and spent much of the Edo period shipping its sake eastward to the capital as prized kudari-zake. The brewery became the first major sake producer to commit entirely to the kimoto fermentation method, requiring brewers to physically pound and grind the rice mash by hand to cultivate wild lactic acid bacteria over roughly four weeks. In 1988, it also became the first large-scale brewery to produce only honjozo-grade sake, doubling down on the dry, structured style that defines Nada. The Kimoto Shiboritate is pressed and bottled fresh in winter without the usual maturation period, preserving a raw, vivid edge beneath Kiku-Masamune's characteristically bone-dry finish.