Please note, this product is not available for shipping. It is available for free pick-up or delivery in Portland, OR.

Taruzake is cedar cask finished sake. Choryo goes to the greatest lengths to make some of the best taruzake in Japan. Their Yoshi-no-Sugi sake is made to present their high quality cedar-cask aromatics right up front. The sake itself is light, crisp, and has just a slight ricey nuttiness. It's an aru-ten style, which is the bigger family that Honjozo styles belong to. The main takeaway is that this is a more sessionable style of sake. It's such a fantastic presentation of the heady, woody, sauna-like aromas of their amazing cedar casks, supported by a springwater-like, crisp, and lightly nutty sake. Choryo is truly at the top of their game for cask sake.

Their process for barrel aging begins with hand selecting the trees from the local cedar forest that will be used for their barrels! They are fastidious about the size of the tree, and even which part of the tree gets milled specifically for their barrel staves. (Not too far to the center, not too far to the outside. Only the perfect wood grain.) Then after the wood is milled, Choryo has their team of artisans hand build each of their barrels using traditional tools and techniques. Part of what's so amazing about Choryo is that this beautiful craft of traditional Japanese barrel-making needs to be preserved, and by supporting these artisans, Choryo is making sure that the knowledge doesn't die out. Finally, when the sake goes into the barrel, it is only for 2-4 weeks. Because the fresh cedar is so vibrant, it only takes a bit to infuse the sake with the perfect amount of woody aromatics.