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Matsuda Mitsuhiro Ceramics (Kumano Aiga Kama) • • We have been fans of Mitsuhiro-san and his work for many years. After an enjoyable meeting last year we were able to convince him to commission some Sake pieces specifically for Black Market Sake. These are all one of a kind clay & glaze combinations in shapes created specifically for the Australian market. Truly incredible to be offering these handmade items in Australia. • Matsuda Mitsuhiro was born in Osaka in 1962. Before starting a career in ceramics, Mitsuhiro-san worked at a museum, working his way up to curator. In 1995 he decided to follow his father’s footsteps and become a potter. He returned to his hometown to work with his father and build his own kiln. Ceramic artists in Japan give their Kiln (Kama in Japanese) names and this becomes the name that their work goes by. Mitsuhiro-san’s Kiln is called Kumano Aiga Kama. It is named after the region where it is located in a very mountainous part of Wakayama prefecture. It is these mountains and their vegetation that are the source of his clay and glaze. He digs all his own clay and experiments with locally sourced wood and vegetation to make his glazes. Using traditional methods and striving for beauty, his works are meant to blend into and become an integral part of their users lives. • Available now via blackmarketsake.com (Link in bio) #blackmarketsake #ceramics #matsudamitsuhiro
Terada Honke ‘Daigo no Shizuku’ • • Established in 1673, Terada Honke have been brewing continuously for over 345 years. They are purveyors of only natural yeast brewing, working almost exclusively with the traditional Kimoto starter method. This Daigo no Shizuku is a very unique Sake. It is produced using the Bodaimoto method, which is known as a ‘pre-modern’ method of creating Sake, first originating from a temple in Nara. The resultant Sake is wildly different from many, with a full body showing sweet fruit and a pickled ume & citrus character. It’s acidity is lively and refreshing. *Bodai-moto is created by combining raw polished rice, a small amount of cooked rice and water and incubated for around three days. The cooked or steamed rice that is added is first cooled in the open air where it becomes infected with yeast. After the mixture starts to bubble and tastes sour the liquid is pored off through a mesh, keeping the liquid to be used with steamed rice and koji for the main mash. Both yeast and lactic acid producing bacteria are cultivated in the bodai-moto and transferred to the main mash in the liquid. Current practice uses this liquid to make the starter rather than the main mash itself. (Link in Bio) #blackmarketsake #teradahonke #chiba #daigonoshizuku
The November Sake Club is out now! This month the focus is on the traditional yeast starter method - Kimoto • • Each month we offer a handpicked 3-pack of artisanal Sake from some the greatest producers in Japan. The selection is offered out at special Sake Club pricing, offering you some excellent discounts on these wonderful products. Each month we will explore different aspects of Sake or focus on a specific producer, allowing you to taste and learn a little more about the incredible world of Sake with each pack. Included in the packs will be information on each Sake in the selection along with storing and serving suggestions. Don’t miss out, sign up to the Sake Club. Details via the link in the bio. #blackmarketsake #sake #sakeclub
KIMOTO - Traditional Yeast Starter • • To understand Kimoto and how it effects on the style and taste of Sake, we have to first look at the technique and history of making Nihonshu..... New Post on the website - learn more about this fascinating technique. Details on www.blackmarketsake.com #blackmarketsake #kimoto
Miyoshino Jozo ‘Hanatomoe Omachi’ • • Miyoshino Jozo was established in 1912. It is located in the heart of the Kii Peninsula under the impressive Mount Yoshino which is famous throughout Japan not only for it’s famous Buddist temple but also for the thousands of Sakura [Cherry Blossom] trees that cover its slopes. An amazing sight during blooming season. The water for the brewery is sourced from a well named ‘Yuzuruha no Ido’ which is thought to be mentioned in one of the most ancient Japanese manuscripts, Manyoshu. The current Toji [Master Brewer] at Miyoshino Jozo is Teruaki Hashimoto, who returned to the Kura after studying Sake Brewing at Tokyo Nodai University, Japan’s foremost academic institution of brewing studies. He started working in 2006 and became Toji in 2009. Hashimoto-san focuses on yeast which he believes is the best representation of the local environment and the acids emitted by the yeast make the resultant Sake very unique. He uses only naturally occurring yeast in the ‘Yamahai’ and ‘Bodaimoto’ versions of their Sake and thus does not want to ‘dilute’ the character or uniqueness of these Sake by adding cultivated yeast. Details on www.blackmarketsake.com #blackmarketsake #miyoshinojozo #hanatomoe #nara
Sake Matsuri!! We’re set up and ready to go. #sakematsuri @sakematsuri #blackmarketsake
Kimino Sparkling Yuzu • • Three real ingredients: Yuzu Juice, Organic Sugar Cane and Sparkling Water..........Nothing Else Used for centuries in Japan, Yuzu is a distinctly sour and aromatic citrus fruit, very high in vitamin C. The taste is best described as a blend between a lime and a grapefruit. Kimino Yuzu is made with freshly squeezed Yuzu juice from hand-picked fruits, sparkling water from Aichi prefecture, and some organic sugar cane for a hint of sweetness. Kimino use the whole fruit when they squeeze, capturing the intense fragrance of the zest and the purest flavour profile of the Yuzu fruit. Some of the zest can be found on top of the bottle. The Kimino juice master Yoshihiro calls it the "ring of aroma." Details on www.blackmarketsake.com #kiminoyuzu #blackmarketsake
#Repost @sakematsuri ・・・ Sake Matsuri is just around the corner, hitting Sydney on October 20th! - Come and try over 60 different varieties of saké brought in from Japan by Australia’s best importers. Your ticket includes all of the tastes plus a glass to take home! It will sell out so get one quick. Link in bio! - #sakematsuri #sydney #blackmarketsake
We’re running a Sake Bar @mouldcheesefestival this weekend. Sake+Cheese=😍 • • #blackmarketsake #junmai #mouldcheesefestival
Sooo excited to announce the first (extremely limited) release of Yorokobi Gaijin in Australia. • • Maruo Honten was founded in 1885 in Kotohira near the Konpira Shrine (a famous pilgrimage site) in Kagawa prefecture. The current Kuromoto (brewery owner) is Maruo Tadaoki who has been owner & Toji since 1999. Maruo-san's focus is on rice. He never blends rice from different growers and works the Moto (starter) and Moromi (main fermentation) to reflect the uniqueness in each batch of rice from each grower. Thus he never blends tanks preferring to bottle each tank seperately. This then pushes Maruo-san to have to bottle up to 30 different products each year. Each tank has a maximum of 1000 kgs of rice in each ferment, however the majority are around 600 - 700 kgs (very small amounts compared to many larger brewers). Maruo-san uses several different rice strains. He mainly utilises the locally grown Oseto rice indigenous to Kagawa but also he sources the rare Kameno-o rice from a young grower in Iwate prefecture, purchasing his entire production each year (enough for just one tank!). Other rice types include locally grown Omachi and Yamada Nishiki. The main Sake brand produced at Maruo Honten is called Yorokobi Gaijin. These Sake are incredibly rare to find in Japan as they are revered in the Sake community and sell out almost instantly once they are released. They are so far unavailable outside of Japan as Maruo-san has never exported directly. Since 2013 we have purchased a small allocation from one of the first bottle shops in Tokushima to carry the Yorokobi Gaijin brand. We then ship them to Australia and put them away for ageing until they are ready to drink. A costly exercise but one in which we believe is worth the effort and patience, as the drinker is rewarded with some of the most stunning Sake being produced in Japan today. Details on www.blackmarketsake.com #blackmarketsake #yorokobigaijin #kagawa #junmai
The Chikuma Nishiki brewery is located in the centre of Nagano Prefecture, a perfect location for Sake brewing due to its naturally cold location having the Asama Mountain to the North and Yatsugadake Mountain (an active volcano) to the South and an altitude of 700 metres. From crystal clear water, fresh cold mountain air and great rice, Nagano has the perfect requirements for producing fantastic Sake. Chikuma Nishiki moved to its present location in 1962, but as a Kura [brewery] they have been brewing sake since 1681 (over 335 years!). Mount Asama not only serves as a majestic backdrop to the brewery, but also serves as a water source for Japan’s longest river the Chikuma, along with the 6 wells of natural spring water that Chikuma Nishiki use for sake production. 99% of the rice that Chikuma Nishiki use is local Nagano rice, including the native Miyama Nishiki variety that is famous for the quality of Sake it produces. Miyama Nishiki is prized for its large plump uniform grain and its ability to grow in the extremely cold areas of Nagano. Miyama Nishiki is a rice that tends not to ferment out as fully as other varieties and so tends to produce a sake that is a touch sweeter and richer with delicate freshness. The ‘Kizan Sanban’ utilises this local Miyama Nishiki rice. The process with this Sake is to stop the fermentation early to retain a touch of sweetness in the brew. This sweetness balances out the often normally higher acid in the Sake brewed at Chikuma Nishiki, which is due to the higher mineral content in the natural spring water from the wells. A delicious ‘Aperitif’ style Sake but also very versatile with lighter dishes. Discover this and more via on www.blackmarketsake.com #blackmarketsake #kizansanban #chikumanishiki #nagano
Super excited to be running a Sake Bar @carriageworks Night Market next week. If you’re in the area come down a glass or 3 of Sake (or even pick up a bottle to take home!). Friday 27th July, 5pm - 10pm. Tickets available via @carriageworks #blackmarketsake #carriageworksnightmarket #sakebar #sake #yuzushu
A sneak peek at a new release coming soon! We’re excited to release one of our first aged Sake projects. Super rare to find these amazing products in Japan, let alone now with 5yrs of bottle age. More info coming soon..... stay tuned. #yorokobigaijin #blackmarketsake
The latest releases from White Oak distillery - two different ‘Akashi’ 5YO Single Malt Whiskies. One ex 1st-fill Bourbon Cask, the other aged in used Cognac Cask made from Limousin oak. Strikingly different and expressive for their age. Extremely limited and available now via the website (Link in bio). #blackmarketsake #whisky #japanesewhisky #whiteoak #akashi #singlemalt
We’re launching the ‘Black Market Sake Club’. • Each month we offer a handpicked 3-pack of artisanal Sake from some the greatest producers in Japan. The selection is offered out at special Sake Club pricing, offering you some excellent discounts on these wonderful products. Each month we will explore different aspects of Sake or focus on a specific producer, allowing you to taste and learn a little more about the incredible world of Sake with each pack. Included in the packs will be information on each Sake in the selection along with storing and serving suggestions. The first offer is out today! Don’t miss out, sign up to the Sake Club. Details via blackmarketsake.com. #blackmarketsake #sake #sakeclub
Consistently a Black Market Sake favourite - Mutemuka Shuzo ‘Mutemuka’. Situated in Kochi prefecture and founded in 1893, Mutemuka’s owner became a pioneer of organic farming when he refused to spray chemicals even against strong opposition from his neighbouring farmers. The regulations governing organic sake are extremely complicated. Organic rice paddies are also generally less than half the density or yield of regular fields so yields are about 50% lower and the production costs are generally 25% higher, so it takes a dedicated brewery to make organic sake. The term "mutemuka" can be roughly translated as "a sake made with pure intentions or without ornamentation.” Mutemuka Shuzo's signature sake is made from two varieties of rice the brewery grows organically themselves. For their Moto (starter mash) they use Kaze Naruko a strain of ‘sake rice’, but the majority of the rice used is Hino-Hikari a prized ‘table rice’. Sake made with table rice tend to be more robust and richer in palate weight due to the proteins, fats and amino acids that become involved in the ferment. Simply stunning Sake! Available now (link in bio). #mutemuka #kochi #blackmarketsake #sake #junmai
Created by legendary Japanese bartender Danny Aikawa who, in 1979 dreamed of creating a truly unique Japanese liqueur from Ume fruit. As he could only attempt to create this Ume based product once a year, all up it took 17 years to develop the recipe (which is a closely guarded secret). Hoshiko is produced once a year after the Ume harvest in Wakayama prefecture. The Ume are macerated along with a secret blend of spices in alcohol. After several months the Ume and spices are removed and sugar is added to balance out the tart Ume flavour. Available now via the website (link in bio) #hoshiko #blackmarketsake