ENOKI SHUZO
Hana Hato.
In 1974, Enoki Shuzo became the first sake brewer in the modern era in Japan to make twice-brewed sake, which it calls kijoshu. Kijoshu entails making a fresh batch of steamed rice, koji mold-inoculated rice, and yeast starter, and mixing them with existing sake instead of water. This enriched mash is then fermented for the standard thirty or so days. The result is a sweeter, extra rich and creamy sake; a sort of very easy-to-drink rice cider, especially the unpasteurized version, which is slightly fizzy. Branded “Kiyomori Heian” by Enoki Shuzo because of this type of sake’s ancient origins in Japan’s Heian Period (794-1185), it is today the brewery’s most popular sake. (Pictured on the right in the title block above.)
The higher sugar content in kijoshu—double that of regular sake—lends kijoshu to being aged, and Enoki Shuzo was also the first sake brewer in recent times to age sake. Its flagship aged kijoshu, labeled “Hanahato,” is aged for eight years. (Pictured to the left in the title block above.) It has a delightful floral fragrance and deep, rich flavor, which combined with its sweetness and fortified alcohol content of 16.5%, make it similar to a sherry or port wine. But being made from a grain rather than from a fruit like sherry and port, “Hanahato” has a heartier flavor and is something you can drink all through a meal instead of mainly before or at the end of it. “Hanahato” goes particularly well with rich Western types of dishes—foie gras, grilled steaks, and stews and also with chocolatey desserts and creamy custards. Its delicious complexity and affinity for food has earned “Hanahato” a Gold Medal at the International Wine Challenge ten times in the last two decades.
Enoki Shuzo was founded in 1899 on Kurahashijima Island. Located just opposite Hiroshima City in Hiroshima Bay, it is one of the largest islands in the Seto Inland Sea. Because of its size and strategic location, Kurahashijima, along with its neighboring island Etajima and the nearby mainland coast of Honshu Island, is part of the Kure Naval Center. Established in 1888, the Kure Naval Center was Japan’s greatest pre-war naval site, and today these districts remain key naval administrative and shipbuilding centers. One might think that Enoki Shuzo made kijoshu for the naval sailors and other seamen who live in the area given how often these professions are associated with sherry, port wine, and other sweet, rich drinks like rum. But kijoshu’s origin has more to do with the nature of the Enoki family. The brewery is currently run by fourth generation brewer and president Toshihiro Enoki and his sister Mariko. As Mariko says, “We are a curious family interested in many things, and when we hear about a new challenge, we want to try it.” This curiosity is evident in the fifty or so different styles of sake the Enokis make within both the standard and kijoshu categories of sake.
Mariko Enoki & Toshihiro
