Private Lab Hinotori
⏳ Drinking Window
Typically best enjoyed within 1 to 5 years of release, though its unique sugar and acid structure allows it to develop beautifully for up to 10 years under professional cellar conditions.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Blue cheese, Peking duck, dark chocolate desserts
✨ Technical Specifications
Part of Aramasa's avant-garde 'Private Lab' series, Hinotori (meaning 'Phoenix') is a modern recreation of Kijushu, an ancient sake-brewing style dating back to the Heian period and documented in the 10th-century Engishiki. In this labor-intensive method, sake is used in place of a portion of the brewing water during the final stage of the fermentation mash. Brewed in traditional cedar casks (kioke) using the legendary Kyokai No. 6 yeast, Hinotori rises from the ashes of history to deliver a luscious, sweet, and complex profile balanced by vibrant, wine-like acidity. It represents a brilliant bridge between ancient Japanese heritage and contemporary natural brewing philosophy.
🍾 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.
🍷 ABV
13%