Sake maker Kokuryu produces excellent sake. The Fukui-based brewery is teaming up with Square Enix to make some more.
In the mid-1970s, the brewery’s owner Masato Mizuno started ageing their high-grade sake after being influenced by French wine maturation techniques.
Kokuryu ages its daiginjo sake (sake with a rice polishing ratio of under 50 per cent) at below zero temperatures to round out flavours and add complexity. The result is some great stuff!
This Final Fantasy-branded expression has a polishing ratio of 40 per cent, which means that 60 per cent of the grain was milled away, removing fats and proteins to help create a floral and fruity sake. In this case, that rice grain is Yamada Nishiki, the king of sake rice.
Famed Final Fantasy artist Yoshitaka Amano painted the label and packaging art, which features a black dragon (“kokuryu” means “black dragon”).
As mag Japaaan notes, the Kokuryu Final Fantasy sake goes on sale January 29 in Japan. It’s priced at 5,400 yen ($66.77).
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