Nigori sake “Gorohachi,” loved as a seasonal feature of autumn and winter, has been a long-selling product for more than 50 years. Over the three days from December 12 to 14, an event titled “Goro Goro, Gorohachi – Kotatsu Sakaba” is being held at Shibuya MODI in Tokyo, where visitors can enjoy tastings.
Based on rich “Gorohachi,” which has an alcohol content of 21 percent, the event offers sweet and easy-to-drink “Japanese cocktails,” including one mixed with milk and one mixed with caramel latte. Visitors can get into a warm, cozy kotatsu and enjoy these new-style flavors free of charge.
On the 13th, a special event was also held featuring influencer Yukke Sakemura, whose total number of social media followers is 2.2 million.
“Relax Casually at a Kotatsu”
Hayato Sekine, Marketing Group Manager at brewer Kikusui Sake Brewing said, “‘Gorohachi,’ which is available only in autumn and winter, has been shipped since mid-October and is now in peak season in December. It has long been supported by fans across a wide range of generations, but we hope even more people will feel free to drink it. Through this event, we want them to discover its new appeal.”
The venue was designed to create an atmosphere where people could relax and enjoy sake at leisure. At the center, a space was prepared where visitors could sit under a warm kotatsu, and stand-style tables were arranged around it.
The original cocktails come in four varieties—“Yuuhi no Kagayaki” (mixed with orange juice), “Yuki Usagi” (mixed with milk), “Kohaku Latte” (mixed with caramel latte), and “Hisui Latte” (mixed with matcha latte)—allowing visitors to choose whichever drink they prefer.
Keisuke Watanabe, a brewer at the company, said, “By drinking ‘Gorohachi,’ we want people to feel the arrival of winter and the white snow piling up in Niigata. Because the moromi is packed as is without filtration, its key characteristics are a solid sweetness and the grainy texture of rice.”
Ms. Sakemura commented, “I had the image that nigori sake was a special drink to be enjoyed with food at restaurants, but ‘Gorohachi’ can be freely mixed, so it can also be enjoyed almost like a dessert. It felt more familiar to me.” Because she often travels to various places, she also said that she would like to take the 180 ml can with her as a travel companion.
Visitors to the event receive an original disposable hand warmer as a gift. A campaign is also underway in which people can win products or an original body pillow by posting on social media.
