Ama No To

Sake tasting at Sakaya on Friday night before a great indian dinner and Dub War's dubstep night with D1. Out of the three Ginjo's offered to us by Sake Sommelier Paul Tanguay (of importers Vine Connections) both myself and Stephen agreed that Ama No To's - "Heavens Door" Tokubetsu Junmai was the hands down winner.


Ama No To's - "Heavens Door" is made by Asamai Shuzo Co - one of the smallest of forty two original breweries in the Akita Prefecture. In Japan you can even read a book about the company and their struggles in making sake - it's called "Natsuta Fuyuzo" (Summer In The Fields, Winter In the Brewery) and was written by master brewer Koichi Moriya. Asamai Shuzo Co have won five straight Gold Prizes in the prestigious National New Saké tasting competitions.

The water used is a famous (since the Edo Period 1600-1868) very soft spring water from a source close to the brewery - it helps give the sake a very mild, and to my palate, appealing after taste. The sake received the name "Heaven's Door" from an an old song. One person describing it said it's "(nutty) flavors with a bit of bread dough" and is said to have "a gentle sweetness beneath." Here's a Fact Sheet.

Here's pictures (by Kenji Nachi) of the team behind the sake and a beautiful shot of the fields where the rice is grown