An ultra-premium saké producer, which makes only one batch a year, is ready to enter the UK market.

Four Fox Saké is made using snowmelt water from the mountains of Niigata in Japan, along with 100% locally sourced Gohyakumangoku rice of the highest grade. Every single grain of rice used in the production of its sake goes through a rigorous polishing process to remove any impurities, according to the producer.

The brand’s name – Four Fox – plays homage to the fox spirits of Inari Okami; the Japanese Goddess of rice, sake and swordsmiths. According to the myth, the fox spirits guard the Torii gates of a shrine, letting only the purest spirits through and thereby marking the transition from the profane to the sacred.

Four Fox launched in Hong Kong in 2015, followed by other global cities such as Seoul, Sydney and Toronto.

A spokesperson for the company said: “Sophisticated, cultured and effortlessly confident, Four Fox has liberated saké from the confines of hazy business dinners, dressed it in a blazer and upgraded it to first class. It’s time to welcome a new age for this traditional drink and Four Fox Saké is leading the revolution.”

Four Fox, which is described as a Junmai Daiginjo ultra-premium saké, is being introduced into London via premium drinks merchants as well as top-end bars and restaurants.