SAKAZUKI Journal
No.002
Charlie’s Note
Looking back, I think I’ve spent half my life searching for Hidden Gems.
I have been with Suntory for 28 years, and I still have the privilege of working with many remarkable creators.
Thanks to that job, I have also been lucky enough to taste many great drinks.
But I almost never say, “This one is better than that one.”
Because “delicious” is very personal.
Everyone has their own taste. I have mine too.
It is quite complicated.
Taste. Aroma. Price. Story. The place where I drink it. The people I drink it with.
My condition that day. Even my mood…
All of these things become part of the taste.
It is not something you can explain with one chart or one score.
Today, I want to tell you about two drinks that went beyond even my own standards.
And that is exactly where my problem began.
— Highball Charlie
My pupils dilated.
Alcohol is alcohol.
But a great drink is much more than alcohol.
We don’t drink because our body nutritionally needs it.
We drink because it makes life richer.
That is one of the reasons I started SAKAZUKI.
Among Suntory’s spirits makers, we often use the word “shushitsu” - the quality of the spirit itself.
So the first question I always ask to myself is simple.
Is the spirit itself beautiful?
If it is, it is no longer just the burn of alcohol; it becomes something more - a high-proof spirit that feels gentle and sits naturally on the tongue.
I also have another strange standard.
I don’t like drinks wearing too much makeup. Too much sugar. Too much added flavor. Too much added aroma.
I like a pure, clean taste that trusts its own ingredients.
Whenever I find something truly special, something happens inside me.
It feels like my pupils suddenly dilate.
That is the best way I can describe it.
One of the best whisky blenders I’ve ever met once told me…
Charlie, whisky doesn’t become great just because it spends a long time in a barrel.
It is always about balance.
The barrel and the spirit must respect each other.
If the barrel wins, the spirit loses.
It’s not the time.
It’s the taste.
— A legendary blender I met in Yamazaki Distillery
I have never forgotten those words.
Even today, they are still one of the most important standards I carry with me.
It wasn’t just good...
In 2022, I met two drinks.
They were still only samples.
One was Green Tea Shochu GYOKURO.
The other was Vintage Plum Liqueur made with Nouvelle.
Both were created by two remarkable people.
Mihoko and Eddie.
I tasted Mihoko’s Gyokuro first.
Looking back, tasting the drier spirit first was the perfect order.
When I saw “40% alcohol,” I became a little careful.
Then I took my first sip.
My pupils dilated.
The first thing I noticed was the aroma.
Fresh. Fruity. Almost like a Japanese pear.
The gentle sweetness surprised me.
Not because sugar had been added. This is a distilled spirit. There is no sugar in it.
The sweetness came naturally from the ingredients and the spirit itself.
And then... Fresh green tea leaves quietly appeared.
The finish was long. Elegant. Beautiful.
I immediately thought,
This is dangerous.
Not because of the alcohol.
Because I wanted another sip.
That was when the goosebumps came.
Next came Eddie’s Vintage Plum Liqueur made with Nouvelle.
Again... My pupils dilated.
This was not the plum liqueur most Japanese people know.
The plum and the Cognac spirit had spent fourteen years together.
After that much time, they no longer felt like two different things.
They had become one.
When Eddie called it, “the best vintage liqueur of my life,”
I simply nodded.
I understood exactly what he meant.
Both drinks taught me the same lesson.
Sweet does not mean good.
Big flavor does not mean better.
The sweetness was subtle.
Refined. Natural.
It came from the ingredients themselves.
I looked at Eddie and Mihoko.
Then I said,
This isn’t good...
I paused.
This is TOO good.
The real problem.
I asked them,
Why did you make these?
Eddie smiled.
I knew it was going to be good. Years of experience told me that.
But honestly... I never expected it to become this good after fourteen years. Haha!
— Eddie Murakami
Mihoko smiled.
I simply wanted to create the ultimate green tea spirit.
How can I bring out more umami? How can I make that umami explode?
So I approached it scientifically.
That’s probably the biggest difference between Eddie and me.
— Mihoko Kayano
Then she laughed.
Actually... this brings me back to the problem I mentioned at the start.
The real problem is not finding Hidden Gems.
The real problem is what happens after you find them.
Once you meet people like Eddie and Mihoko,
you can never look at a bottle the same way again.
You start seeing the years behind it.
The conversations. The failures. The small discoveries. The people.
Listening to both of them, I realized something.
They are not just creators.
They are seekers.
Always curious. Always learning. Always trying one more idea.
Maybe that’s why I enjoy being with people like them.
I think I’m a little like them, I cannot stop searching for Hidden Gems.
Maybe... that is what a Rare Creation really is.
Not something rare because there are only a few bottles.
Something rare because very few people ever meet the people behind them.
That is why SAKAZUKI exists.
To share those people.
Not just their creations.
Maybe that’s why... I still get goosebumps.
— Highball Charlie
These two Rare Creations are available exclusively to the SAKAZUKI Family.
If this story speaks to you, I’d love to welcome you.
Discover the Rare Creations → Sakazuki Rare Creations
Japan's Hidden Gems, Shared Together
