NOGUCHI NAOHIKO 01 Special Edition Vol.2 was created to mark master brewer Naohiko Noguchi’s 90th birthday.

Limited to just 900 bottles, the sake was assembled from aged reserves that had been carefully stored since the opening year of the Noguchi Naohiko Sake Institute. Noguchi himself selected the component sakes and brought them together through assemblage, creating a release shaped as much by time as by brewing.

This limited edition is available through IMAMI.

Created to Mark Naohiko Noguchi’s 90th Birthday

Born in Ishikawa Prefecture in 1932, Naohiko Noguchi began working in sake brewing at the age of 16. Over a career spanning more than seven decades, he became closely associated with the revival of traditional yamahai brewing and later joined the Noguchi Naohiko Sake Institute as tōji.

Special Edition Vol.2 was released around his 90th birthday in December 2022.

For the occasion, Noguchi selected from reserve sakes that had been matured since the Institute’s first year of operation and blended them into a single expression. Production was limited to 900 individually numbered bottles.

An Assemblage of Aged Yamahai Sake

Rather than representing a single batch, Special Edition Vol.2 is built through assemblage — the blending of different mature sakes to create a final composition.

The component sakes were produced using the yamahai method. The final blend uses 75% Omachi rice from Okayama and 25% Yamada Nishiki from the Tojo Special A district of Hyogo, with an alcohol content of 17%.

The significance lies not only in the age of the reserves, but in the selection itself. Each component brings a different degree of maturity, richness and structure, with Noguchi determining how they should come together in the finished sake.

A Mature Yet Focused Style

The Noguchi Naohiko Sake Institute describes the aroma as delicate, with notes recalling acacia honey, ripe banana and dried flowers.

On the palate, the sake is creamy and seamless, combining concentrated umami with a mineral character and a clean, balanced finish. Despite its depth, the official tasting note emphasises that it does not feel heavy.

That balance between maturity and precision is central to the character of Special Edition Vol.2.

A Bottle Designed by Toshio Ohi

The presentation was conceived with the same attention as the sake itself.

The original bottle was designed by Toshio Ohi, an artist and the eleventh-generation successor of the Ohi ceramic tradition in Kanazawa.

Its asymmetrical form was created to retain the sense of hand craftsmanship. For Special Edition Vol.2, the bottle was given a distinctive lapis-blue accent, paired with a black-and-gold presentation box and an individually numbered tag.

The result brings together Japanese sake and contemporary craft in a single limited release.

NOGUCHI NAOHIKO 01 Special Edition Vol.2

Ishikawa, Japan | Sake | 770ml | Limited to 900 Bottles

Created to commemorate Naohiko Noguchi’s 90th birthday, this limited release was assembled by Noguchi himself from aged reserve sakes stored since the Institute’s first year.

This item is available through IMAMI.

For pricing, current availability, store location and purchase enquiries, please contact us.

New arrivals and rare releases are announced on our official Instagram @imami__japan and through our NEWS archive.