Which sake is truly delicious on the market? The awards ceremony for the 2024 SAKE COMPETITION, one of the sake tasting events that serves as a standard for selecting sake, was held on June 6th.
Sakes selected from the drinker's perspective that you should try at least once
The SAKE COMPETITION, which began in 2012, is a sake tasting event organized by Tokyo liquor stores with the aim of conveying the appeal of sake to consumers in an easy-to-understand manner, based on the idea of "setting new standards so that consumers can find more truly delicious sake regardless of brand." This year marks the 10th anniversary of the event.
The sake that is judged is commercially available sake, and the brands are completely hidden, with the competition being based solely on the quality of the sake. This means that any brand has a chance to take first place, regardless of brand or brand.
Judging will be held in a total of five categories, including "Junmai Sake," "Junmai Ginjo," "Junmai Daiginjo," and "Super Premium," as well as the reinstated "Overseas Entries" category.
The judges are industry experts such as sake brewers and technical instructors, and are sake specialists. They carefully evaluate each submitted sake from the perspective of a drinker, assigning it a score and determining the ranking.
Since the top-ranking sakes are made up of around 10% of the entries, the selected sakes can be said to be the top of the best for that year, and this is where trends are born.


The winners gathered together at the awards ceremony held at The Peninsula Tokyo.
According to the judges, 2024 was a year in which the quality of the rice used was worse than ever before, and they were concerned about the taste of the sake, but they praised the breweries' efforts, saying that thanks to their high level of skill, many of the sakes were as excellent as usual.
The following are the award-winning sakes.
"Junmai Sake Club"
The first place goes to a brewery in Akitsu Town, known as the home of Hiroshima's master brewers."Fukuchou Shimbashi Men's Sake" by Imada Sake Brewery Co., Ltd..
"This year has been a difficult year for sake brewing, and I was talking with my colleagues at the brewery about how it wouldn't be a good year. I never dreamed we would win first place, so I'm surprised and really happy at the same time," he said, expressing his joy at winning the award.
Its taste is very dry and can be enjoyed either hot or cold. It is said to have the image of a quiet and serious man. Although it is spicy, it has a good range of flavors, so it goes well with a variety of dishes.
The second place and below are as follows.
2nd place: "Hakurakusei Special Junmai" by Shinzawa Brewery Co., Ltd. (Miyagi Prefecture)
3rd place: "Gakki Masamune Junjo" by Oki Daikichi Honten (Fukushima Prefecture)
4th place: "Hiroyuki Special Junmai" by Hiroki Shuzo Honten Co., Ltd. (Fukushima Prefecture)
5th place: "Hoken Junmaishu Retro Label" Hoken Shuzo Co., Ltd. (Hiroshima Prefecture)
6th place: "Yamatan Masamune Junmaishu Matsuyama Mitsui" Yagi Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. (Ehime Prefecture)
7th place: "Mimurosugi Roman Series Dio Abita" Imanishi Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. (Nara Prefecture)
8th place: "Yamatan Masamune Jazz Brew" by Yagi Shuzo Co., Ltd. (Ehime Prefecture)
9th place: "Mineno Hakubai Junmai" by Mineno Hakubai Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. (Niigata Prefecture)
10th place: "Ugo no Tsuki Special Junmai Yamada Nishiki" Aihara Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. (Hiroshima Prefecture)
"Junmai Ginjo Category"
1nd place"Musical Instrument Masamune Aizan Nakatori" Partnership Company Oki Daikichi Honten (Fukushima Prefecture)
Founded in 1865, Oki Daikichi Honten is a long-established store in Yabuki Town in the southern part of Fukushima Prefecture, known for producing high-quality rice. The taste is fresh and refreshing, with the sweet aroma of Japanese pears, melon, and muscat, and a gassy feel. In addition, it is sweet but not heavy, and has a clean, lingering finish with a mineral feel.
2nd place: "Ugo no Tsuki Junmai Ginjo Yamada Nishiki" Aihara Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. (Hiroshima Prefecture)
3rd place: "Hatsujin Junmai Ginjo" Furuhashi Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. (Shimane Prefecture)
4th place: "Kuromatsu Hakusen Junmai Ginjo Hana" Hakusen Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. (Gifu Prefecture)
5th place: "Toyo Bijin Jundo Ichizu Limited Edition Junmai Ginjo Yamada Nishiki" Sumikawa Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. (Yamaguchi Prefecture)
6th place: "Buyu Junmai Ginjo Yamada Nishiki Kaminari" by Buyu Co., Ltd. (Ibaraki Prefecture)
7th place: "Buyu Junmai Ginjo Yamada Nishiki" by Buyu Co., Ltd. (Ibaraki Prefecture)
8th place: "Kyoto Hina Uchikoza Junmai Ginjo" Sakuroku Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. (Ehime Prefecture)
9th place: "Tokaimori Junmai Ginjo Nanohana" Koizumi Sake Brewery Limited Partnership (Chiba Prefecture)
10th place: "Kankobai Junmai Ginjo Yamada Nishiki 50%" Kankobai Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. (Mie Prefecture)
"Junmai Daiginjo Category"
The first place was"Yamawa Shizukudori" Yamawa Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. (Miyagi Prefecture)
This ultra-limited Junmai Daiginjo sake is made by collecting every single drop that drips from the sake bag and storing it in a tobin. It has a dignified and gorgeous fragrance, a delicate and smooth texture on the tongue, and a clear and elegant taste, and is praised as a highly refined gem of a product.
2nd place: "Taiheizan Tenko" Kodama Brewery Co., Ltd. (Akita Prefecture)
3rd place: "Horai Junmai Daiginjo Top-Quality Secret Sake" Watanabe Sake Brewery Ltd. (Gifu Prefecture)
4th place: "Toyokuni Junmai Daiginjo" Toyokuni Sake Brewery LLC (Fukushima Prefecture)
5th place: "Toyo Bijin Ichiban Matome Junmai Daiginjo" by Sumikawa Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. (Yamaguchi Prefecture)
6th place: "SEN Junmai Daiginjo Shizukudori" by Hirose Shoten LLC (Ibaraki Prefecture)
7th place: "Morishima 25+ SILVER Junmai Daiginjo" Morishima Shuzo Co., Ltd. (Ibaraki Prefecture)
8th place: "Ishizuchi Junmai Daiginjo" Ishizuchi Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. (Ehime Prefecture)
9th place: "Sanran Junmai Daiginjo Yume Sasara" Tonoike Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. (Tochigi Prefecture)
10th place: "Ho-o-Bita Akaban Junmai Daiginjo Sake" Kobayashi Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. (Tochigi Prefecture)


The sake that won this award.
"Super Premium Division"
The awards are not limited to designated name sake, but are selected from sake with a retail price of 720 yen or more (excluding tax) for 10,000 mL and 1,800 yen or more (excluding tax) for 15,000 mL.
1st place: "Fuji Taikan Secret Sake Limited Daiginjo" Morishima Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. (Ibaraki Prefecture)
2nd place: "Katsuyama Akatsuki" Sendai Izawaya Katsuyama Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. (Miyagi Prefecture)
3rd place: "Saku Chi" by Shimizu Seizaburo Shoten Co., Ltd. (Mie Prefecture)
"Overseas Sake Competition"
Among brewed alcoholic beverages made from rice at overseas breweries, the top pick was "DASSAI BLUE Type 1" by DASSAI USA INC. (NY).
Many sakes are already difficult to obtain, but if you have the chance to enjoy their taste, be sure to do so.
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