3 X SAKES   +  TASTING NOTES   +   70+PAGES OF CONTENT!

Discover authentic Japanese sake & demystify the drink while supporting a traditional brewery!

THE PROBLEMS
THE SAKE INDUSTRY IS FACING.

Problem #01: Finding great sake.

While great sake is abundant and omnipresent in Japan, it is different once you step out of the country, especially if you don't live in a big city. While things are improving, finding great bottles of sake is still complicated, confusing, time-consuming and most of the time not budget-friendly.

Problem #02: Understanding sake.

While we know our rudimentary basics about wine, beer, gin etc., sake remains a total mystery for most of us. Numerous misconceptions stay in people's minds when they think of sake. We've probably all thought at some point or know someone who still thinks that sake is a spirit drunk as a shot and only warm, right?

Problem #03: Small sake breweries in Japan are struggling.

In 1983, there were 2,552 operating sake breweries, according to the Development Bank of Japan. Today, this number is about 1,200. There are multiple reasons for the steep downturn: 

1 - Decreased alcohol consumption among ageing sake drinkers and younger generations.

2 - Competition with other alcoholic beverages imported with greater marketing power from abroad into Japan.

3 - The imbalance of marketing power, budget and know-how between small breweries, whose sole dedication is to brew the perfect sake, and larger ones whose sheer scale offers the margins that quantity driven international trading companies are looking for.

4 - The fragmented structure of the industry where numerous middlemen end up escalating prices and the pressure on the breweries to perform at increasingly lower returns, favouring larger breweries from point 3 above.

5 - COVID19: On top of the current pressures put on small breweries discussed above, the global pandemic has been disastrous for breweries. The lucky ones have seen their business activity drop, some by as much as 70%. For the less fortunate ones, they've been forced to shut down. 

OUR SOLUTION,
THE SAKE DISCOVERY BOX!
In collaboration with the Kikuchi Sake Brewing Company.

The Sake Discovery Box is filled with the best-selling sakes of the Kikuchi Sake Brewery & over 70 pages of content about sake and Japan!

Our mission is to make great sake readily available in the UK, educate and guide consumers in a simple format while supporting small craft breweries in Japan and give them the recognition they deserve. 

AWARD-WINNING SAKE

Sake #01: Sanzen Tokubetsu Junmai Omachi

The Fine Sake Awards (Japan) 2013, 2014, 2016, 2020: Gold
MILANO SAKE CHALLENGE (Italy) 2019: Gold
Omachi Sake Award (Japan): 2015,2017:Gold
KURA MASTER (France) 2017: Gold Award

Sake #02: Kiseki no Osake Junmai Ginjo Omachi

KURA MASTER (France) 2019: Gold
The Fine Sake Awards (Japan) 2018: Grand Gold

Sake #03: Sanzen Junmai Daiginjo Omachi

The Fine Sake Awards Japan (Japan) 2020: Grand Gold 
The Fine Sake Awards Japan (Japan) 2017, 2018, 2019: Gold
KURA MASTER (France) 2019: Gold

70+ PAGES OF CONTENT ABOUT SAKE & JAPAN

Drinking sake is fun, but it's even more delicious when you immerse yourself in its culture and heritage. This is why we've prepared exclusive and educational content for you to demystify the drink, understand how it's made, its history, how to drink it and more! We've also prepared content about the Kikuchi Brewery and the beautiful region of Okayama where they are located.

Sake is an all-natural beverage made using the freshest and purest ingredients Earth can provide. It's therefore logical that we do our best to accommodate and respect the environment as much as we can.

All our materials are printed on recycled paper with vegetable ink.

The box is printed in the UK with alternative inks, is 100% recyclable, 100% compostable, biodegradable, plastic-free and powered via renewable energy.

The brewery was founded in 1878 in the traditional business district located in the Tamashima area of Kurashiki City in Okayama Prefecture.

Gifted with excellent water from the Takahashi River valley and premium quality Omachi rice, the brewery is focused on producing small batches of high-quality sake.

MR TO KIKUCHI, BREWMASTER (Toji)

Mr To Kikuchi assumed the role of head of sake production and brewmaster in 1996, intending to produce "a delicious and crisp sake that one won't forget after drinking it just once, an ideal sake". The result is a sake that combines Mr Kikuchi's knowledge of fermentation engineering, which he acquired at the Faculty of Engineering at Hiroshima University and the traditional skills of Bitchu-style sake production.

Mr To Kikuchi is also an avid musician and was instrumental to the rise of local arts and culture, such as establishing the Kurashiki Chamber Orchestra.

He holds regular classical music concerts at the brewery to attract visitors and even plays Mozart throughout the brewing period to help refine his sake.

DELICIOUS & SUSTAINABLE SAKE PRODUCED WITH JAPAN'S OLDEST SAKE RICE 

The Kikuchi family has always put quality and sustainability before anything else. It is why they only use the finest local ingredients that are grown in sustainable ways. One example is the decision to incur a higher cost to use Omachi rice (Japan's oldest sake rice) produced in a pesticide and fertiliser free environment by famous sustainability grower Akinori Kimura. Furthermore, Mr Kikuchi's motto is to promote the tradition of sake, skills, and knowledge of brewing sake in a sustainable way to the next generation of brewers. Mr Kikuchi himself brews his sake very carefully by overseeing every step of the brewing process. 

JAPAN'S LITTLE VENICE, A TIME TRAVEL TO "EDO" JAPAN

Kurashiki is located in Okayama Prefecture, not far from the prefectural capital of Okayama City. Kurashiki has a preserved canal area that dates back to the Edo Period (1603-1867) when the city served as an important rice distribution centre. The name "Kurashiki" can be roughly translated as "town of storehouses" in reference to the numerous rice storehouses still present. Walking through the streets of this charming town is like a journey back to Edo Japan.

LET'S PROMOTE NATURAL, FERTILISER AND PESTICIDE-FREE TECHNIQUES OF CULTIVATIONS

We will donate 1% of all sake box and perks sales to the Okayama Prefecture Kimura Style Natural Style Cultivation NPO. Through "natural cultivation" advocated by Akinori Kimura, who is familiar with "miracle apples", the NPO will work with farmers, consumers, and cooperating organisations to create "agriculture" and "food" that are kind to the Earth, plants, and people. 

Akinori Kimura is the world's first apple farmer to successfully grow apples without fertilisers, pesticides, or herbicides. Mr Kimura started growing apples without pesticides because his wife, who overreacted to the chemicals, became ill.

The Okayama Prefecture Kimura Natural Cultivation NPO is now pushing this natural method to other products, including vegetables and rice.

Website of the NPO

High-School students learn about chemical-free cultivation methods.
Source: www.oka-kimurashiki.jp

Help us spread the love of sake and support the ancestral craft while promoting responsible agriculture.

Want to join our family of sake lovers and take part?

Pre-order your sake discovery box or any other rewards we've made available to you to help us get this exciting project off the ground! 

You can also support us by sharing this project with your friends and family and spreading the word!

The Next Steps

This is a pre-order campaign. Our goal is to spread the word about our passion, that is sake. We're commited to fulfilling every order, and we will keep you updated every step of the way.

Our first sample shipment has just reached the UK, and we're excited to be able to offer it to you at a special price along with other unique items.

We will be able to ship the items from the 01st of December, so you can pre-order now for Christmas! 

We're committing ourselves to you and the Kikuchi brewery to share our passion for sake and hopefully make you fall in love with it!

Visit our Instagram HERE.

For more sake visit us at www.sorakami.co.uk