Japan's largest sake competition "SAKE COMPETITION". At the end of July, the results for 2016 were announced.

This competition is only for commercial liquor that can be purchased by the general public, and the brand is hidden and judged. In 2016, 5 departments were set up, and 409 breweries and more than 1,460 exhibited sake were collected from all over the country.

The 1st to 3rd place award-winning stocks in each category are as follows. (Duplicate listings are not possible in each department)

◆ Junmai Sake Division
1st place "Atago no Matsu Special Junmai" (Niizawa Brewery / Miyagi Prefecture)
2nd place "Hirotogawa Special Junmai" (Matsuzaki Sake Brewery / Fukushima Prefecture)
3rd place "Special pure rice brewed with rice grown by Mr. Mori Hanabato" (Eno Sake Brewery / Hiroshima Prefecture)


◆ Junmai Ginjo Division
1st place "Katsuyama Junmai Ginjo Dedication" (Sendai Izawa Family Katsuyama Sake Brewery / Miyagi Prefecture)
2nd place "Nozomi bo: Junmai Ginjo Bottle Kanzake" (Tochigi Sake Brewery / Tochigi Prefecture)
3rd place "Toyo Bijin Junmai Ginjo 50" (Sumikawa Sake Brewery / Yamaguchi Prefecture)


◆ Junmai Daiginjo Division
1st place "Aitomo Junmai Daiginjo" (Aitomo Sake Brewery / Ibaraki Prefecture)
2nd place "Tsukasabotan Tankake Drop Sake Junmai Daiginjo Harashu" (Tsukasabotan Sake Brewery / Kochi Prefecture)
3rd place "Aizu Chusho Junmai Daiginjo Special Brewery" (Tsurunoe Shuzo / Fukushima Prefecture)


◆ Ginjo section
1st place "Tajima Daiginjo" (Konoyu Sake Brewery / Hyogo Prefecture)
2nd place "Heisei 26 National New Sake Appraisal, Shirakiku Gold Award Winner Daiginjo Harashu" (Shirakiku Sake Brewery / Ibaraki Prefecture)
3rd place "Seven Ken Appraisal Exhibition Sake Daiginjo" (Yamanashi Meijo / Yamanashi Prefecture)


◆ Super Premium Division (new)
Not limited to sake with a specific name, sake with a retail price of 8,000 yen (excluding tax) or more for 720 ml and 15,000 yen (excluding tax) or more for 1,800 ml.

1st place "Kurufuku Super Polished Junmai Daiginjo" (Kurufuku Sake Brewery / Ibaraki Prefecture)
2nd place "Saku Daichi Daiginjo Drip Removal" (Shimizu Saburo Shoten / Mie Prefecture)
3rd place "Reverberation Super7" (Niizawa Brewery / Miyagi Prefecture)


Koichi Hasegawa, the president of Hasegawa Hotel, who sponsored the event, commented as follows.

“Recently, sake is booming, but in reality,“ phantom sake ”that is hard to come by is popular. Instead, SAKE COMPETITION chooses "ordinary delicious sake" that suits your usual meals and lifestyles. I hope that women and young people will be more comfortable and delicious, and will be interested in sake through "SAKE COMPETITION" and pick it up. ”