Private Lab Hinotori Direct Pump
⏳ Drinking Window
Best enjoyed fresh within 1 to 2 years of the bottling date to experience its natural effervescence and bright fruit profile.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Blue cheese, foie gras, fruit-based desserts
✨ Technical Specifications
Part of Aramasa's experimental 'Private Lab' series, 'Hinotori' (meaning Phoenix) is a modern reincarnation of Kijushu, an ancient sake style dating back to the Heian period. In this luxurious brewing method, finished sake is used instead of water during the final mashing stage, yielding a rich, sweet, and deeply complex profile. The 'Direct Pump' (Jikagumi) version is bottled immediately from the press, capturing the natural micro-effervescence of fermentation. Brewed using the historic Kyokai No. 6 yeast in traditional wooden casks (kioke) via the Kimoto method, this sake beautifully balances vibrant acidity with luscious sweetness.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 1852 by Uhei Sato in Akita Prefecture, Aramasa Shuzo stands as one of Japan's most revolutionary and revered artisanal producers. The brewery earned historic distinction in 1930 when its in-house culture was isolated as Kyokai No. 6, the oldest surviving yeast strain in active distribution. Under eighth-generation kuramoto Yusuke Sato, who took over in the late 2000s, Aramasa embarked on an uncompromising renaissance. Sato committed strictly to pure Junmai brewing, utilizing exclusively local Akita-grown rice cultivated without chemical pesticides, including over 30 hectares farmed in the Uyashinai district. Reviving traditional Edo-period techniques, all fermentations rely purely on indigenous lactic bacteria via the kimoto method and take place entirely in wooden cedar vats (kioke). Fermented using only pristine soft local mountain water and Kyokai No. 6, Aramasa's sakes—such as the iconic unpasteurized No. 6 series, the terroir-driven Colors collection, and the experimental Private Lab bottlings like Amaneko—are globally benchmarked for their electrifying acidity, pristine structural tension, and vinous elegance.
🍇 Grapes
Akita Sake Komachi
🍷 ABV
13%