The Sake Anatomy › Sake Brand Index › Suigei
No.53 · Brewery Profile
Suigei酔鯨 · Suigei Shuzo 酔鯨酒造
Based in Kochi City and brewing since 1872, Suigei specializes in dry sake designed as shokuchushu — sake to drink alongside food. Its name, ‘Drunken Whale’, comes from the pen name of the Tosa lord Yamauchi Toyoshige.
Who makes Suigei?
Suigei Shuzo, brewing in Kochi City since 1872. Its name, “Drunken Whale,” comes from the pen name of the Tosa lord Yamauchi Toyoshige, and the brewery specializes in dry sake designed as shokuchushu — sake meant to be drunk alongside food.
What does Suigei taste like?
Tagged Dry & Crisp and Rich & Umami, the Tokubetsu Junmai is the dry flagship, full of umami with a sharp, clean finish at SMV +7 and acidity 1.6. The Junmai Ginjo Ginrei is lighter and more restrained, a crisp, dry ginjo with subdued 3/5 aroma.
Which bottle should you try first?
The Tokubetsu Junmai is explicitly the dry flagship, full-umami and clean-finishing, and the more representative starting point than the lighter Ginrei.
How does Suigei compare to other Kochi breweries?
Suigei’s Dry & Crisp, Rich & Umami combination sets it apart from prefecture-mates Tsukasabotan and Tosatsuru, tagged Dry & Crisp alone, and from Keigetsu, tagged purely Aromatic & Fruity — Suigei carries more weight and umami than the drier, lighter end of Kochi’s range.
Frequently asked questions
What does the name Suigei mean?
“Drunken Whale,” taken from the pen name of the Tosa lord Yamauchi Toyoshige.
What is shokuchushu?
Sake designed to be drunk alongside food — the dry style Suigei specializes in.
How many bottles does Suigei make?
Two on this page: the dry, full-umami Tokubetsu Junmai and the crisper, more restrained Junmai Ginjo Ginrei.
The bottles
Tokubetsu Junmai酔鯨 特別純米酒
醇酒 Junshu · Rich“The dry flagship; full umami, sharp clean finish.”
Junmai Ginjo Ginrei酔鯨 純米吟醸 吟麗
爽酒 Soshu · Light & Smooth“A crisp, dry ginjo with restrained aroma.”
Reading the bars: an editorial flavor reading (0–5) of each bottle — Dry→Rich, Light→Full, Subtle→Aromatic, Low→High acidity — not laboratory values. The colored badge is the SSI four-type classification (薫酒 Kunshu · 爽酒 Soshu · 醇酒 Junshu · 熟酒 Jukushu). SMV and acidity appear only where the brewery publishes them.
Sources: suigei.co.jp · saketime.jp