NEW YORK, N.Y.— HEAVENSAKE, the first Franco-Japanese Sake, introduces a new JUNMAI DAIGINJO expression – titled “Label Orange” (720ml; 16.9% ABV; $69.99 SRP) – to its portfolio, in collaboration with noted sake brewery, Urakasumi, located in the Miyagi prefecture of Northern Japan. Label Orange, which reflects the expertise of a winemaker applied to sake and the terroir of Japan’s rice varieties, was recently awarded Gold Medal the 2022 New York World Wine & Spirits competition.
HEAVENSAKE’s co-founder and award-winning Chef de Cavein Champagne, France, Régis Camus worked closely with Urakasumi’s Toji (master brewer) and its president, Koichi Saura, to craft a smooth, pure and elegant liquid. Saura san is the 13th generation of the Saura family and founding chairman of the Sake Samurai organization in Japan which actively promotes Sake overseas. According to Saura san, HEAVENSAKE is a game changer for the Sake industry, by creating the first lifestyle brand and opening new doors to this category.
Marked by a vibrant orange cap and bottled in HEAVENSAKE’s signature black glass bottle, the liquid is made in a unique way using Camus’ expertise in wine assemblage here applied to Sake. Camus approaches crafting each expression of Junmai Daiginjo as a winemaker blending a vintage of a wine; focused on each rice’s terroir, polish, and the region’s water source, to create the perfect blend of three pure ingredients – water, rice, and Koji. Camus collaborated with the 290-year-old brewery to blend Kura No Hana, a local rice variety, and Yamadanishiki rice with two yeasts that are proprietary and exclusive to Urakasumi, including the widely recognized Kyokai 12 yeast, and the Miyagi prefecture’s notably softer water type. The resulting liquid is an extremely smooth multi-layered blend that is versatile and delicious with 16.9% ABV that is gluten-, sulfite-, sugar-, and additive-free.
In creating a new Junmai Daiginjo, Camus wanted to expand on the success and enthusiasm that greeted the brand’s first Junmai Daiginjo expression, which was created in partnership with Southern Japan’s renowned Dassai brewery in the Yamaguchi prefecture; a liquid comprised of the region’s harder, mineral-rich water, Yamadanishiki rice and the Dassai brewery’s proprietary yeast blend.
“We are certainly entering a period of acceleration for the Sake category in the main export markets – the United States, China and Hong Kong,” says Camus. “Pre-pandemic the category trend was around +20% year-over-year. These markets have seen a rapid growth of the Junmai Sake segment particularly for Junmai Daiginjo grade. Momentum is here: HEAVENSAKE in 2021 tripled its revenue sales versus the previous year.”
TASTING NOTES: HEAVENSAKE “LABEL ORANGE” JUNMAI DAIGINJO
(720ml; 16.9% ABV; $69.99 SRP)
Aroma: Delicate notes of notes of delicate pineapple, lychee, green apple, melon, blossom, white lily with hints of dried fruit and steamed rice
Taste: Perfect balance between the purity of a dry Junmai Sake and a crisp wine-like tasting experience; silky texture – slightly rich and dry – complex layered umami and smooth acidity
Finish: Distinctly refined with 40-50% rice polish – a process through which the tough outer shell of each grain is removed to reveal the rice in its purest form, giving way to a cleaner, purer flavor
Serving Recommendations:Label Orange is best enjoyed chilled in a wine glass; made for easy drinking and versatile food pairings such as lobster, uni, sashimi, carpaccio, cheese and caviar
HEAVENSAKE Label Orange is currently rolling out in key U.S. markets. It is available at top restaurants, including Sushi Nakazawa in New York City; Zuma in Boston; Akira Back in Houston; Sushi by Scratch and Rosewood Miramar in Montecito, CA, and is available nationwide through online retailers such as TippsySake.com and Reservebar.com.
About HEAVENSAKE
Founded in 2016 and introduced to the U.S. market in 2017, HEAVENSAKE is an award-winning collection of smooth premium sakes (“Best Sake” winner at the San Francisco IWC in 2019 and 2020). Handcrafted and produced in Japan, HEAVENSAKE celebrates the union between the traditional art of Japanese sake-making and Champagne assemblage techniques. It is the first Franco-Japanese collaboration in the sake world, co-founded by acclaimed French Chef de Cave, Régis Camus. Camus is an eight-time winner of the prestigious “Winemaker of the Year” award at the International Wine Challenge, the world’s finest and most meticulously judged wine competition. In contrast to traditional batched sakes, Camus’ vision brings his expertise in the art of blending Champagne vintages to HEAVENSAKE.
HEAVENSAKE’s four expressions are all of the prestigious Junmai sake class, which translates to “pure” in Japanese, featuring two JUNMAI DAIGINJO expressions, TWO JUNMAI GINJO expressions and their unique creation JUNMAI 12 – a 12% ABV sake with 25% less alcohol and 25% less calories than normal Junmai sakes. The sakes’ unparalleled smoothness comes from Regis’s skillful assemblage, blending different sakes from historic breweries. Working closely with the Tojis (sake brewmasters), Regis created four expressions that all meet the highest standards of balance, purity, and refinement to reflect the meaning of Junmai. The four HEAVENSAKE breweries are amongst Japan’s most respected: Dassai, Urakasumi, Konishi, and Hakushika.
Extremely food-friendly and envisioned to be enjoyed at any time of the day – much like a glass of wine or a good, refreshing beer – HEAVENSAKE is made of only three ingredients: rice, water, and koji for fermentation, a process similar to that of beer brewing. Each expression is meant to be enjoyed chilled and served in a wine glass. The distinct blends are all-natural, created with no distilled alcohol or added sugar; all expressions are sulfite-, gluten-, and additive-free, and are three times less acidic than wine. Given these qualities, HEAVENSAKE is the ideal drink for any bon-vivant looking for “A Better High” (the mission of HEAVENSAKE, remaining sharp even after a playful time.)
From the sake to the bottle itself, everything is produced in Japan. The distinct, proprietary shape of the HEAVENSAKE bottle took nearly 18 months to design and was born from the challenge of finding a shape that respected the traditionally understated elegance of Japanese culture while expressing the brand’s modern personality. The result is a vessel that evokes the purity of water, champagne’s character, and the timelessness of wine – life in a drop. The HEAVENSAKE logo (RAKKAN) is a reference to the brand’s Franco-Japanese heritage: The hexagonal shape represents France due to the country’s six-sided shape, while the interior lines are inspired by Japanese kanji (calligraphy), creating three hexagons to represent water, rice, and koji – the three main ingredients that produce sake. A testament to the brand’s unique design, HEAVENSAKE has received the Gold recognition for packaging design at the San Francisco International Wine competition, two years in a row.
Beloved by notable cultural icons and celebrities including Neil Patrick Harris, Dita Von Teese, A$AP Rocky, Irina Shayk and Emily Ratajowski, HEAVENSAKE is easily found at acclaimed restaurants and hotels across the U.S., including MASA, Sushi Nakazawa, Gjelina, The Setai, PLANTA, Casa Faena, O Ya, Sushi by Bou and many more. Today, HEAVENSAKE is distributed nationally by Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits and available for purchase at reputable retailers across the country, including Bowery & Vine, Erewhon, Whole Foods, BevMo!, and Trader Joe’s.
For More Information:
https://www.heavensake.com/