The Sake Anatomy › Sake Brand Index › Taketsuru
No.69 · Brewery Profile
Taketsuru竹鶴 · Taketsuru Shuzo 竹鶴酒造
Taketsuru has brewed in the old port town of Takehara, Hiroshima since 1733, and is the ancestral home of the Taketsuru family — including Masataka Taketsuru, who later founded Nikka Whisky. The brewery makes only junmai, entirely by the traditional kimoto method, favoring a dry, robust, rice-driven style that many drinkers say only really opens up once it’s warmed.
Who makes Taketsuru?
Taketsuru Shuzo has brewed in the old port town of Takehara, Hiroshima since 1733, and is the ancestral home of the Taketsuru family, including Masataka Taketsuru, who later founded Nikka Whisky. The brewery makes only junmai, entirely by the traditional kimoto method.
What does Taketsuru taste like?
Tagged Rich & Umami and Dry & Crisp, Taketsuru favors a dry, robust, rice-driven style many drinkers say only opens up once warmed. The Taketsuru Junmai rates 3/5 on richness and body; the top-tier Ozasaya Taketsuru Junmai goes further, at 4/5 on both, with both scoring just 1/5 on aromatic intensity.
Which bottle should you try first?
Start with the Taketsuru Junmai, called the brand’s signature dry junmai and noted as excellent served warm, before moving up to the richer, full-bodied Ozasaya Taketsuru Junmai, built for aging and warming.
How does Taketsuru compare to other Hiroshima breweries?
Taketsuru’s Rich & Umami side is shared with Hiroshima prefecture-mate Kamoizumi, though Kamoizumi also carries Elegant & Refined, a tag Taketsuru lacks; fellow Hiroshima brewery Fukucho leans a different way entirely, tagged Aromatic & Fruity and Elegant & Refined.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Masataka Taketsuru?
A member of the Taketsuru family whose ancestral home is this Hiroshima brewery; he went on to found Nikka Whisky.
What brewing method does Taketsuru use?
The traditional kimoto method, used exclusively for junmai-grade sake — the brewery makes no other grade.
How many bottles does Taketsuru make on this page?
Two: the signature Taketsuru Junmai and the richer, top-tier Ozasaya Taketsuru Junmai.
The bottles
Ozasaya Taketsuru Junmai小笹屋竹鶴 純米
醇酒 Junshu · Rich“Top-tier kimoto junmai; rich, full-bodied, built for aging and warming.”
Taketsuru Junmai竹鶴 純米
醇酒 Junshu · Rich“Signature dry junmai, excellent served warm.”
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 (薨酒 Kunshu · 爽酒 Soshu · 醇酒 Junshu · 熟酒 Jukushu). SMV and acidity appear only where the brewery publishes them.
Sources: ja.wikipedia.org · tanoshiiosake.jp