Three Months: The Time It Takes to Make One Bottle of Sake in Holbrook

It takes approximately three months to produce a single bottle of sake at Arizona Sake, a workshop located just off Route 66 in Holbrook, Arizona. The process begins with washing and heating rice in baskets before the grain is moved into vats for fermentation. Once the fermentation is complete, the mixture is pressed under pressure to extract the liquid, a method Sakurai compares to pressing mash.

Atsuo Sakurai operates the business alongside his wife, Heather Sakurai. Sakurai, a native of Tokyo, worked in the sake industry in Japan for many years before relocating to Arizona. He stated that his original goal was to establish a sake manufacturing business somewhere in the world. The shop uses a 200-gallon vat to produce the beverage, a traditional Japanese alcohol made from fermented rice.

The couple integrates their respective cultural backgrounds into the production process. Heather Sakurai is from the Navajo Nation, and their products reflect this heritage. One specific variety of sake features Navajo tea, which Sakurai identifies as a plant. He noted that the aroma of their creations is often described as pear or blueberry, while one taster reported tasting prickly pear in a sample, calling it as Arizona as it gets.

Sakurai’s sake has won competitions in Japan and in other countries. He produces traditional styles of the drink, with some unique creations available for purchase only at the Holbrook shop. He observed that visitors are frequently surprised to learn that such a product is made in this location. “Oh, yeah. Initially, nobody believed,” he said.

The hands-on nature of the work provides Sakurai with a sense of peace. He views the slow process as a way to preserve a type of industry that is facing pressure from automation and artificial intelligence. He drew a parallel to the impact the interstate highway had on businesses along Route 66, noting that technology threatens how some industries operate.

When asked if the business will continue for the next 100 years, Sakurai responded with a single word: “Hopefully.” The shop remains open to the public, where the couple continues to craft their award-winning beverages using methods that span thousands of years.

The combination of Japanese technique and local Navajo ingredients defines the product line at Arizona Sake. Sakurai emphasized his desire to save this kind of industry, stating, “That kind of business, industry, I want to save.”