The iconic logo – the Sword and Diamond of Kenbishi – is front and centre on this bottle, they’re proud of being Japan’s oldest sake brand. “The taste won’t have changed for 200 years” is how Kenbishi President, Shirakashi-san, explained their signature blend, known simply as ‘Kenbishi’ in Japan.
Kenbishi Sword and Diamond offers a smooth & soft delivery that builds dramatically with textured acidity, earthiness & richness. Complex aromas & flavours of chocolate, mushroom, cooked banana, apple, soy, prunes & demerara sugar are all present. An absolute workhorse of a sake with fabulous food-pairing abilities. Superb warm at most temperatures but we loved it at around 40 deg C.
Kenbishi’s way of making sake predates the modern classification system (est. 1992 cf Kenbishi est. 1505); thus, Sword and Diamond is officially classified as a futsu-shu but only because one of the sakes, from the one of its blends, uses togaimai (i.e. rice that has not passed the official classification to make premium sake). In all other respects this is a premium sake indeed, and one that will not disappoint!