Iga, Japan
Product
( 2001 )
焔霞 HONOKA
( 1995 )
碧雨 HEKIU
( 1995 )
煌宵 KIRAYOI
About
A Unique Vintage Sake
Created by a Coalition of Time and Science
01 Concept
Vintage×Science
- Sake Lovers for 180 Years,
We Ventured into the Unexplored Realms of Sake -
Sake is the national drink of Japan.
Nurtured for 2,000 years, a new page in its history is now being written.One of the most familiar alcoholic beverages for Japanese people, there is more to sake than what typically comes to mind when they hear the name.
We have discovered new potential in brewing sake with our own hands and nurturing it with love and care.
Betting on this potential for half of our lives, we continued to mature perfectly made sake even further, and of course this gamble came with its share of fear. We knew that the sake would be delicious to drink and, knowing we had achieved that goal, we aimed to take it to the next level. For years, even decades, we spent each day gritting our teeth in fear that it could all be for nothing come tomorrow. We store many varieties of sake, collecting data meticulously on a daily basis and feeling our way forward, step by step.VINTAGIENCE is a vintage sake that has been nurtured to share sake’s new potential with the world—a vintage sake for adults who understand the meaning behind the passage of time. We have created a bottle that will accompany you as you carve out your own path in this journey we call life, and reminisce on how you came to be where you are now.
Challenging the traditions we have cultivated, we will step out onto new frontiers never before reached. We will continue to discover and create new charms of this sake and develop the culture around sake going forward. We hope to delight and surprise you with a flavor of sake that improves upon the deliciousness you thought you already knew.
02
Philosophy
Iga, a Ninja Village Nestled in the Mountains
Iga is one of the rainiest regions in all of Japan. The surrounding Kii Mountain Range stores that rain water, before it gushes out again, clean and clear in a subterranean stream. Blessed with this famous Iga-no-Mizu (Iga Water), the area is an area known for its rice and sake cultivation. The rice grown in this basin climate, with its disparate temperature difference between day and night, is known as Igamai (Iga Rice) for its unique taste and aroma.
When good water and good rice are combined, the result is delicious sake. Sake from Iga is often described as having a clear or pure taste, and the soft subterranean water refined by the mountains produces that gentle flavor. A slow fermentation of rice and water transforms it into sake.
This long-established sake brewery kept an eye on this process and has discovered new possibilities for this Iga sake.
180 Years of Tradition and Beyond
VINTAGIENCE’s challenge began the moment the seventh generation of this long-established brewery that has been brewing sake in Iga for nearly two centuries, opened a bottle that had been sitting in a corner of the storeroom.
With 14 Gold Awards under our belt, we take pride in the fact that we have inherited and continue to produce sake that is loved and recognized by many. Time, effort and enormous cost. Was it really necessary to risk all of that in order to achieve even higher levels of excellence?
Nonetheless, we couldn’t resist the challenge. To create a sake that is unlike anything ever tasted before. Once we realized that sake had a charm that could not be dismissed as simply “old sake,” it felt as though it were our mission to spread the word about the new possibilities of sake.
Decades have passed since that moment and we have been waiting day after day for the moment this product would be ready for the world, and now our challenge is finally coming to bloom.
…To the World
We did not just leave it to rest. This is a vintage that has been developed by taking meticulous amounts of data and experimenting with various methods of maturing sake qualities, and storage temperatures and methods. We now offer a variety of aged flavors that dispel the image of dusty old sake.
Such complex exquisiteness lies behind a clear and beautiful drinking experience. A bittersweet aroma rises from the brandy reminiscent amber liquid. This is a new world of sake that no one had expected. We have discovered the true nature behind the deliciousness of each sake and spent great time and effort to raise them to the pinnacle of flavor.
VINTAGIENCE is the result of the science of sake—a delicate sake that can lose its flavor even after a few hours of exposure to sunlight—achieved through meticulous care and the accumulation of daily data. We will bring to the world the possibilities of sake, a new frontier that can only be reached by those who know the tradition of sake and have stepped beyond it.
03
Design
- The brand design that embodies Vintage × Science.
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A logo type where classic and modern coexist. It features a symbol reminiscent of the “tortoiseshell,” a symbol of longevity and good fortune, and a hexagonal symbol evoking molecular bonds. The brand identity of these harmonized contrasting elements visualizes the unique characteristics of VINTAGIENCE, where maturation and science coexist.
The graphic at the center of the label, expressing a gradient woven by vast spans of time, intricate science, and a passion for maturation, visualizes the complex variability of VINTAGIENCE that goes beyond even the imagination of the creators. It captures the special individuality inherent in each sake, shaped by the extensive aging process and meticulous scientific craftsmanship.
Furthermore, the visual representation of clock hands symbolizes the uninterrupted ticking of the maturation process, serving as a crucial brand icon for VINTAGIENCE.
