Junmai Kimoto

Yeast	“I’m going to start a series of stories about Daishichi called ‘Daishichi sakes tell their own story.’ First I’m going to visit Junmai Kimoto, as he enjoys the highest sales volume among all Daishichi’s products. He truly is Daishichi’s leading product, so I feel a bit tense… Hi!”
Junmai Kimoto	“Hi Yeast, what can I do for you?”
Yeast	“Well… I would like to ask you some questions about yourself.”
Junmai Kimoto	“Alright, that’s no problem! My history goes back a long way. In the mid-1950s, the 8th Generation wanted to start brewing me. But the sake grading system of that time formed an obstacle and I had to wait. I finally came out in 1983 when ‘local sake’ (jizake) became popular. My big-boned and deep umami taste, so different from what can be achieved by simplified modern brewing methods, soon attracted the attention of sake lovers. Rather than capricious fans following the latest trends, repeat customers who valued good sake made me great!”
Yeast	“Sake with a true taste suddenly experienced a breakthrough.”
Junmai Kimoto	“Yes, that happened twice. The first time was in 1996, when in the program The Adventures of Wordsworth on Fuji Television a character played by the actor Masato Ibu praised me to the skies. The day after the broadcast, the telephone just kept ringing. And the second time was in 2005 when the Top List of Anything and Everything in the Nihon Keizai Shinbun (Japan Economics Newspaper) choose me as the best sake for combining with traditional Japanese New Year foods. This time, the response was even bigger and it lasted longer.”
Yeast	“Yes, we were kept very busy!”
Junmai Kimoto	“A sudden increase in sales is always welcome, but our first concern is to maintain the same high quality. We have never shortened the important period of maturation in order to dispatch the sake earlier, even if we had to keep customers waiting for a while.”
Yeast	“Indeed, otherwise our customers would have been disappointed.”
Junmai Kimoto	“Precisely. All customers who drank me for the first time, seem to have become repeat customers.”
Yeast	“I’m glad to hear that.”
Junmai Kimoto	“If I may go on boasting a bit, I also got the highest ranking in the gourmet magazine Dancyu, and I have several times won the Platinum Prize at the Great Jizake Show, where the voting was carried out by sake sommeliers...”
Yeast	“What a line-up of first prizes! What is the secret of your great popularity?”
Junmai Kimoto	“Well, I think it is my strict focus on quality. Customers can always fully rely on me. My character has been described as ‘Delicious when served cold, and even more delicious when served warm.’ Another important element is my rich taste. No other sake can beat me when I’m paired with foods with a deep umami such as hotpot dishes or abalone. Light and dry or very young sakes just are not suitable there.”
Yeast	“Indeed, that’s why you also fit to Chinese and Western dishes, besides Japanese food. By the way, are there any other members in your family?”
Junmai Kimoto	“Yes, my brothers are the seasonal sakes Hiya-oroshi which comes out in autumn, and Kan-oroshi which appears at the beginning of winter. Both have been only pasteurized once, before maturation in the summer. And I should also mention Junmai Kimoto Genshu, an undiluted sake which comes out in early summer. Daishichi is also number one in variation!”
Yeast	“What about Kimoto Umeshu?”
Junmai Kimoto	“Right, I’m the sake used for the Kimoto Umeshu sake-based plum liqueur. I have many older brothers, don’t forget to visit them later.”
Yeast	“Sure! Please continue to do work hard as the prop and pillar of Daishichi!”
Junmai Kimoto	“Thank you, Yeast. My best wishes to everyone.”