Nobunaga Junmai Ginjo Muroka Nama Genshu: Three Words That Mean Nothing Was Done to It

The full name of this sake is a list of processes that were skipped. Once you can read it, the label tells you almost everything.

Muroka, Nama, Genshu

Three separate terms, three separate omissions.

Muroka means unfiltered, specifically not carbon-filtered. After pressing, most sake is passed through activated carbon to strip color and adjust flavor toward a house standard. It works, and it also removes character along with the imperfections. Muroka sake skips it, so it often has a faint golden tint and a fuller, less polished flavor.

Nama means unpasteurized. Standard sake is pasteurized twice, once before storage and once before bottling, to kill enzymes and stabilize it. Nama sake skips it, keeping a fresh, lively, slightly sharper character. The cost is fragility: nama needs cold storage from the brewery to the glass, and it changes if it warms up.

Genshu means undiluted. Sake ferments to around 18 to 20% ABV, higher than any other brewed beverage, and it is normally cut with water to land around 15 to 16%. Genshu skips that, so it arrives at full strength with the concentration intact.

Together the three mean this is sake as close to the tank as it gets. It is bottled at 17 to 18% ABV.

The Rice

Hida Homare, polished to 60%.

Hida Homare is a Gifu sake rice, so this is a local grain in a local sake, which is less common than it sounds. Many breweries buy Yamada Nishiki from Hyogo regardless of where they are.

At 60% it meets the ginjo threshold exactly.

The Name

The brewery is Nihon Izumi, in Gifu Prefecture, and the Nobunaga name is not decoration.

Oda Nobunaga took the castle here in 1567 and made it his base. He renamed the town Gifu, and it was from this city that he ran the campaign that began the unification of Japan. His seal from that period reads tenka fubu, roughly "the realm under one sword."

Naming an undiluted, unfiltered, unpasteurized sake after him is at least thematically consistent.

What It Tastes Like

Vibrant and robust. Elegant fruity aromas, ripe melon and pear, and a rich natural flavor with a crisp finish that has more force behind it than a diluted sake would.

The high alcohol is noticeable but not hot, because the concentration comes with body to carry it.

How to Drink It

Well chilled, and keep it cold. This is a nama sake and warmth is not kind to it.

A small pour. At 18% it drinks closer to a fortified wine than to a table sake.

Ice is also legitimate here, which it usually is not for premium sake. Genshu has enough concentration that a cube dilutes it toward normal strength rather than washing it out.

Pair It With

Fatty toro sashimi, karaage, anything rich. The concentration means it can meet strong flavors head-on.

Try It at Juraku

Nobunaga Nama Genshu is on the sake list at Izakaya Juraku, Lower East Side. Nama sake is seasonal and does not keep, so check the current menu or ask us what is open.