IZUMI Brewery (Ontario Spring Water Sake Company)

Do not fall for their sake tour promotion. The price is high and the guide arrived unprepared. We were a group of 11 and we paid so much money just for this kinda story telling tour. I expected to learn how they produce sake. The guide spoke in short vague bursts and ended the explanation. They served a tasting without giving the composition or the alcohol percentage. The price is high for the value. Take your money to a bar, where staff explain what you drink.

Took a tour recently with a larger group. Really good experience. The guide was funny & informative. We really enjoyed the sake flights as well, and after, even bought some cocktails to take home with us. Nice little hidden gem in the distillery.

I was gifted a sake tasting tour for my birthday. We arrived a little early so decided to indulge in a sake flight before the tour began. Enjoyed the patio outside and the server was very friendly. The tour was very informative for anyone who is interested in how sake is made. We tried 4 sakes during the tour. Tour guide knew his stuff and it's great location to go somewhere else afterwards.

Izumi Sake is an absolute gem! Without a doubt, it's home to the sweetest, most delightful sake I’ve ever tasted. The place itself has a unique charm, making it a must-visit for any sake enthusiast. We were served by a kind and knowledgeable staff member who took the time to walk us through the intricate process of sake brewing. His expertise enhanced our tasting experience as he carefully guided us through the various selections. It was an incredible visit, we ended up purchasing several bottles and will definitely return on our next trip to Toronto. Highly recommended!

Izumi is a great place for those who are willing to enjoy a minimalist environment and want to try different styles of sake. The place is very pleasant, very organized, with well-displayed refrigerators and excellent service. In addition to the indoor space, the outdoor area has a counter for some snacks, and in the summer there is an outdoor area to enjoy with family, friends and companions. The place does not have an entrance suitable for wheelchair users or people with reduced mobility, so it is necessary to be careful when visiting.

First heard about Izumi through my workplace and colleagues who introduced me to their flavoured sake, but I never made an visit until last week, Tuesday, around 2pm. I got lost trying to find it, as it's sort of hidden as you make your way through the Christmas Market at Distillery. When I visited, they had an outside booth selling hot food – i believe it was shared with another local vendor, Nakamori, because they sold jerk chicken karaage with mango Aioli and I don't know any other spot in the city that makes it. I ordered 2 onigiri: spicy miso and mayo chicken. Unfortunately the chicken had very little filling. It was basically rice. Also ordered the jerk chicken karaage, it was really great and served skewer style. It turned into a bit of a mess by the end, but it was worth it. Inside, you can see the brewery to the left, a small pantry grocery section in front of you, and a small bar to the right. Didn't look like there's a washroom onsite. The brewery on the left has some signage with a self-guided tour so you can educate yourself. The pantry section consists of their sake, along with sake kasu which are the leftover parts of the sake that is brewed. They have other pantry items as well and I believe gift sets. I ordered the sake kasu because it's a versatile ingredient for pickling, enhancing flavours for other dishes, and for making some amazake. The bar to the right has high seating, ~5-6 seats. You can order one of their drinks or try a tasting flight. I ordered the hot apple cider, which was not too sweet, which is what I needed with the chilly winter weather. All the seats were taken and it's sort of a cramped space so I enjoyed my drink directly behind the people seated. Overall, I liked it here. I will definitely be back!

I love yuzu and lime sake. It's not a strong sake because of the citrus flavor. If you are looking for some light flavors or just the first time try sake I am recommending this one. And if you are lucky sometimes you can get it LCBO too.

Fun experience to do in the distillery district. You can self tour this distillery. There are big selections of sake to buy as well as some Japanese snack to go with. Some outdoor seatings available. I tried their 7 sake tasting. Not professional but you can definitely taste the differences between each one. There’s also description of each one so can learn some about the ones you are drinking

Stumbled upon this sake brewery while taking a break from walking, and it turned out to be a gem! The staff were extremely friendly and knowledgeable, patiently explaining each sake in detail. I tried the Complete Tasting Flight, which included seven different kinds of sake -- from the unpasteurized and balanced Nama-Nama, the creamy and slightly sweet Nigori, to the bold and undiluted Genshu at 17.5%. Each one had its own unique character and depth of flavor, making the tasting both fun and educational. Prices are very reasonable considering the experience, and it's definitely a great spot to relax and enjoy authentic Japanese sake in Toronto. Highly recommend! 行到攰，無意中走入呢間清酒廠，竟然有得飲日本酒，真係一個驚喜！店員非常親切，仲詳細解釋每一款清酒嘅特色。我試咗 全套清酒品嚐 (Complete Tasting Flight)，一共有七款：包括口感均衡嘅 Nama-Nama、帶有淡淡甜味嘅 Nigori、仲有酒精度高達17.5%、濃烈又純粹嘅 Genshu。每一款酒都有自己獨特嘅風味，飲落去唔單止開心，仲好有教育性。價錢合理，以呢個體驗嚟講非常抵，係多倫多一個非常值得停落嚟歎返杯日本清酒嘅地方。強烈推薦！

This place is a hidden gem in the distillery district. We popped in and ordered the sake flight, it was great and the staff there are very knowledgeable and passionate about sake! They offer plenty of things for sale: bottles of sake, drinking vessels. It is cozy in there with only a few stools for seating. We had a delicious apple cider sake cocktail and left with a bottle from the shop!

Fun experience to do in the distillery district. You can self tour this distillery. There are big selections of sake to buy as well as some Japanese snack to go with. Some outdoor seatings available. I tried their 7 sake tasting. Not professional but you can definitely taste the differences between each one. There's also description of each one so can learn some about the ones you are drinking

We came here on a Friday around 2:30. When we first walked in there is a small serving bar. It also has an outdoor patio area. The server was so very polite and kind. We did three tasting flights, 7, signature 3 and cocktail. We sat outside in the patio and our server brought our flights to us. All tastings were great! Loved the citrus cocktail from the cocktail tasting(the other two were good too) Favorite from the signature 3-Nama Nama. Favorite from the 7-arabashiri. Will definitely come again.

First heard about Izumi through my workplace and colleagues who introduced me to their flavoured sake, but I never made an visit until last week, Tuesday, around 2pm. I got lost trying to find it, as it's sort of hidden as you make your way through the Christmas Market at Distillery. When I visited, they had an outside booth selling hot food - i believe it was shared with another local vendor, Nakamori, because they sold jerk chicken karaage with mango Aioli and I don't know any other spot in the city that makes it. I ordered 2 onigiri: spicy miso and mayo chicken. Unfortunately the chicken had very little filling. It was basically rice. Also ordered the jerk chicken karaage, it was really great and served skewer style. It turned into a bit of a mess by the end, but it was worth it. Inside, you can see the brewery to the left, a small pantry grocery section in front of you, and a small bar to the right. Didn't look like there's a washroom onsite. The brewery on the left has some signage with a self-guided tour so you can educate yourself. The pantry section consists of their sake, along with sake kasu which are the leftover parts of the sake that is brewed. They have other pantry items as well and I believe gift sets. I ordered the sake kasu because it's a versatile ingredient for pickling, enhancing flavours for other dishes, and for making some amazake. The bar to the right has high seating, ~5-6 seats. You can order one of their drinks or try a tasting flight. I ordered the hot apple cider, which was not too sweet, which is what I needed with the chilly winter weather. All the seats were taken and it's sort of a cramped space so I enjoyed my drink directly behind the people seated. Overall, I liked it here. I will definitely be back!

Was strolling through the Distillery Winter Village and had to stop at this spot as a sake lover. Upon entering you walk straight into a full-on sake distillery! There is a limited seating area, but we snagged a couple seats at the bar as opposed to the seating along a window that looks into the sake processing area (still a great view imo). Service was fast as there were only two other people at the bar when we got there. The "Hot Cocktail: Sake Apple Cider" sign outside caught my eye, but I ordered the sake cocktail tasting flight: Yuzu + Lime Collins; a Sake Politan (cosmo); and the Sake Apple Cider. My sister got the N.A. Amazake (a warm traditional Japanese drink) and she said it reminded her of the flavors of rice pudding - so delicious. There's merch and a bunch of sake and other goods for you to buy and take home if you want. Will totally come back to try some of their sake and some of the snacks when I'm back in town.

Being a Sake fan, this is a place I will come back regularly. Not that it has such a good sake. Honestly, if we are to compare it to the many high end brands of Sake from Japan, this is not comparable. But being a Canadian and seeing Japanese sake being brewed locally, I am proud of it. What good about having a local sale brewery is that you can buy things like Arabashiri from here. It is freshly taken out of the tank, and not pasteurized nor mixed. This is a unique experience and each tank is unique. Most importantly, this carry the unique flavor of floral and fruits that is comparable to very high end brand sake. Love it!

Originally tried the complete 7 tasting flight of sake & we weren't huge fans because it tastes like straight liquor (I'm picky & prefer sweet drinks). So we decided to try the sake cocktail tasting flight & this was a much better experience. If you're into sweet drinks, this is a must try. We loved it so much that we ended up buying a couple bottles of their flavored sake. Our favorites were the yuzu & the Apple cider flavored sake. Overall, it was a good experience & wished I could have more of their flavored sake!

Very small, ultra cozy tasting bar with a view into the (also small) sake brewing area. We went just to order the tasting complete - all seven sake varieties - which I highly recommend. The staff member that handled our tasting was extremely knowledgeable and funny, and he explained a great deal about sake brewing, the processing, and the differences between each variety served. Although super small in size, they served great sake with a side of education!

After walking around the distillery district, when I saw a sake tasting sign! Super cool dining room and the bar is filled with their bottles of sake and even have some of their tanks hanging around. They found us a spot at the bar and and brought out their menu, and we went for the tasting flight. They even poured some straight out of their tank if the bottle was running low. The flight came with a quick description of each one so it definitely helped searching for those nuance notes in each of the sakes. A really cool experience if you're wondering around the district.

Sake breweries?! I've never seen or heard of one in the States, so seeing this was a pleasant surprise! It's funny how the last time I visited the distillery district I didn't even go to any distilleries XD. So, my friend and I showed up and were delighted to see that they had sake flights! The woman inside graciously greeted us and sat us down. We were at some high stools... there wasn't much tabletop space, but for what we were getting we didn't need it. We decided to get an order of each flight: one that was three types of their sakes, with one being distinctly strong, and the other being sake cocktails. In the first flight, my favorite sake was definitely the strongest one, the genshu... I ended up buying a bottle of it. In the second one, the sake apple cider was my favorite. The others were a sake cosmopolitan and sake Tom Collins, if you will. I was so inspired that I am going to try and recreate the sake apple cider at home! As we drank our sake, we were able to read the process of how sake is created and processed in 8 steps that were laid out on some posters along the wall. This place was a delightful discovery and I'd love to visit again whenever I'm in town. And the staff were so kind!

Me and my partner literally stumbled across this place since we were walking around and shopping. Decided to take a quick pit stop and wow. Considering that Canada isn't exactly known for it's sake, nor are sake breweries popping up left and right, this place blew our minds with just how tasty their products are, especially the ones that are blended with flavors! We were honestly doing our best to figure out how to get some bottles across the border when we went home (They don't ship across the border) (I'm a huge fan of the yuzu) If you're even somewhat nearby I would recommend making a detour to stop by

My sweetie and I ventured to downtown TO this cold evening for the Distillery District's Winter Village theme that runs from November 18th thru to the final day of 2021. Wouldn't you know it, someone became extremely cold because my advice wasn't heeded. My emergency training came in handy....warm Sake to the rescue! It was nice to sit indoors at a bar. Really! It's an 8 inch wide wooden bar with wooden stools overlooking a sake factory floor on the other side of the glass partition. No complaints here! The large 270 ml serving of warm Atsukan (Dry) Sake was excellent. The friendly staff warm up the drink using hot water to boost the aroma & flavour; never in a microwave! We could have taken a brief self-tour of the venue, however, it was time to ride into the cold night with the Winter Village warmth within.

This is a pretty cool concept, a sake distillery in the distillery district. We tried the tasting flight and a cocktail. We found some gems. We were in exploration mode and didn't want to carry heavy bottles around, but it's definitely worth visiting again. I'd take some bottles home next time as well.

A really really small sake brewery and store front. It's also called the Ontario Spring Water Sake Company. They have two presentations a day. The first one in the morning is the master class which is more expensive. The one in the afternoon is cheaper. I went to the afternoon presentation. You need to E-Mail them to book a reservation. You get to taste 4 different sakes. They fill the sake cup to the rim. It's located in the Distillery District so you can walk around before or after to be presentation. I thought it was interesting on how sake is made and getting to taste their products.

Distillery district has a lot of restaurants and bars Among the friends who like to drink, you should not miss this shop that specializes in drinking Japanese Sake The grapefruit wine tastes sour and sweet, and it feels a little fresh and fresh, probably because of the addition of left lime This one is served with fish and seafood (topped with grilled saury!!!!) In particular, this shop can be used before you can drink a glass and try it. I prefer to buy one first, so I have to try a few more drinks

Sake distillery located in the Distillery District. When we entered 1 hour before closing, there was a private tour for the distillery going on. I think if you come earlier, they have public tours for the distillery. There was a small bar that seats about 8 people where you can order a selection of ~7 sakes and 2 sake cocktails. I did a small tasting of three different sakes. Nama nama - unpasteurized with lots of complexity. Nama Cho - pasteurized. very clean and filtered tasting. not a fan since it's more like a watered down vodka. Genshu - strongest of them all. 17%. Definitely worth a visit if you like sake. They have many bottles for sale if you're a sake lover.

DO THE SAKE TOUR! Super cool experience for $15/person! Make sure you make your reservations way ahead of time. //THE GOOD// We got to try 4 sakes (nama-nama, teion Sakura, genshu, & nigori). SIP IT ! Don't take a straight shot of the Sake. You'll sense the unique fruity flavours. My personal favourite was their signature nama-nama. I got quite tipsy after tasting it all (I'm super light weight haha) or else I wanted to purchase their sake Apple cider too! The tour guide gave awesome insight into the entire process of how they make their Sake and the history of it all. She was also super responsive to questions and kept us engaged. //NOT-SO-GOOD// Only downside is we didn't rlly walk anywhere, we just sat down in front of the glass that looked into their inactive brewing room, and looked at pictures/little vials of ingredients she passed around. It also would've been cooler if we got to keep the Sake glass as a souvenir, but we had to return it at the end of the tour.

DRINKS An amazing place to taste up some locally brewed sake! Started off with the sake flight to wet the taste buds. My favourite of the 3 was the Genshu sake which had that more aggressive sake taste I prefer. Although the entire flight was delectable. The hostess was amazing and explained the different offerings they had and some history about the brewery. I felt like I was back in a quaint bar back in Shinjuku with each swig. Kudos to the founder for bringing a taste Japan to our doorstep. I ended up picking up some bottles for myself to enjoy with good company later on. A must place to stop by if in the distillery! You will not be disappointed.

Apparently there are only two sake distilleries in Canada and this is one of them. I am still learning my sake, but one thing I can tell is good sake versus bad sake. The sake here was good!

Delicious sake in a cozy little setting at the Distillery District. We especially enjoyed the Teion Sakura, a lighter, fruitier sake more akin to a white table wine

Great surprise to find an authentic, craft, sake brewery in the heart of The Distillery. Well made and delicious

Took a tour here today. The price is $10 per person. The tour was informational, with explanation of how the sake is made, the ingredients, and the facility. The facility was not WOW, but it was cool to see how it was made. They let us sample Nama-Nama which was strong, with a sweet taste and Yuzu Lime Collins, which tasted like an alcoholic lemon-lime drink. The Yuzu one is definitely dangerous in the wrong hands because the alcohol taste is light. I think for the price, the tour either needs to be somehow more interactive or sample maybe one more shot of sake, but overall a good experience

You read that right, Toronto has its own Sake Brewery!!! I initially discovered OSWSC at Kampai--Toronto's only Sake Festival organized by the Sake Institute of Ontario. The festival always showcases the OSWSC and it was easy to remember the company as the brewery was right behind were the festival took place--in the heart of Distillery District. My favourite is the Nama Nama Sake--an unpasteurized Junmai sake (750 ml for $28.00). They have other varieties in store & also have premixed sake cocktails (Sake Collins is delicious) which you can sample & purchase in store. If you're new to Sake, I suggest cozying yourself at the bar and asking for sake flights. They have some great tasting flights for $10.00. There are only about five Izumi (OSWSC's brand) you can find at LCBO--most of them at the Highway 7 & Woodbine location. Otherwise, you have to venture out to the brewery and purchase your sake here.

If you are in the distillery district, you are probably there to drink right? Well, head over to Ontario Spring Water Sake Company for some sake tasting. A flight is $10 and you get to taste 3 types of sake. There is very very limited seating, so you might have to wait or stand. There are also tours of the distillery - make sure you check the website for the tour times. I wish I could have bought a bottle of sake, but TSA doesn't allow large bottles of liquids, so I didn't buy any.

Ontario Spring Water Sake Company is a sake brewery in Toronto brewing using water from Northern Ontario.... Love the concept! Love the location! Love the set up! I just love the whole idea... The staffs are all really nice and patient and explained each of the sake we tasting and how it was made... It was really enjoyable and I suggest the Tasting Flight ($10) if you are not too familiar with sake. Even for non drinkers, OSWSC has something for everyone! Sake Kasu was used to make marinade, salad dressing and even desserts! I was all excited when I saw they have Goma ice cream when I saw the sign.. but unfortunately it was all sold out!!! I need to come back to try the Goma.....

I visited this Sake company as part of the Old Toronto Beer Tour. This place is located in the Distillery District. A man named Godfrey told us about the company and the process of making Sake. Plus, we got some suggestions in regards to pairing it with a meal besides sushi. We got to try 3 different kinds of the company Sake: Nama-Nama, teion sakura and the genshu. I loved the first one. The taste hits you strong the first time you taste it but afterwards it becomes smoother. The facility is not very big. It has a bar/store front and behind it stands the different containers including one that looks like a sauna for processing the rice and Sake. There are some nice gift sets, bottles and soaps for purchase along with Sake cups.

I discovered Izumi sake at the LCBO and find it far superior to any other I have tried. Yesterday I discovered their brewery in the distillery district and went to the source to try a few that are not available at LCBO. Because of COVID I did an online order and picked it up. Everything was ready the morning after I ordered. The brew shop is in a lane way off the main entrance from Mill Street. Easy to get to but requires some walking. I also got two of their sake glasses. This is sake you drink cold, not hot and their glass holds a perfect amount and keeps it chilled. I tried a new one today and it is even more delicious than what I've had before. I'm going to try them all. It's such a pleasure to have a good sake brewery right here in downtown Toronto.

Really weird service. I walked in and wasn't greeted or anything. I actually just wanted the sake ice cream. I paid and wasn't given a spoon....ok. I eventually got one. The ice cream was rock hard. I had to wait a bit before I can scoop up. I thought flavour-wise it tasted slightly like sake with some creamy element. Not bad.

Lovely place to taste sake the real way :) served my authentic Japanese at the mini bar and tours led by them as well. You know the information is all real and true. You can walk in and taste test all their locally brewed sake out of that location. They can charge you by carafe or by each glass. They also have a tasting flight three types of sake which they don't have at LCBO for $10. They also have warm sake, warm apple cider sake, flavored sake (eg. Pineapple and melon) as well as sakepolitan which is quite unique. They have tours running at 1 pm and 3:30 pm on weekends if you want to learn about everything. Which Includes that $10 tasting flight and one other sake for $15 and runs for about half an hour. They also sell sake glasses, carafes, Izumi tee shirts, sake sesame salad dressing, locally bottled sake and a few more. This is Ontario's only sake brewery at the moment so definitely visit them if you're in town.

Located in the Distillery District, the Ontario Spring Water Sake company distillery, as you might imagine, makes sake. This is the first good sake I've ever had. The bar is small, 7 seats total, and sells sake on-premise in bottles as well as at the counter. The sake is smooth, flavorful, and in my opinion quite good. When you walk in you might think that you walked in through the wrong door. You didn't. It's a true hole in the wall experience. The drinks are very well priced and they also sell sake tasting sets (cups and such) at the bar. If you're a tourist or just happen to be in the area and want to warm up for a minute, I highly recommend stopping by.

In the distillery district and has been there for awhile. They have seasonal saki. Food wise every limited. Sometimes they have one special food they serve (like hotdog with tempura pineapple). You dont need to do the brewery tour because place is pretty small and you can see everything. They have a patio which you can drink your alcoholic beverage. They have tastings including flights. Most of the drink you can buy at LCBO but you can also buy there (couple dollars cheaper). The nom nam saki and the yuzu are my favourite.

I am so glad this place exists! I love sake but am no expert so this is just wonderful! I tried the flight (10$ for three small glasses) which includes a good range of dry to sweet to more boozy. Then I got an glass of first run which has even more alcoholic content. The girl at the bar was so sweet and helpful! I have to come back for the"tour" to learn more about how they make this delectable drink. I bought a 725 ml bottle of their nama nama (16$) which is their signature. So reasonably priced yay!!

Stopped by on a whim when walking through the Distillery District. Sat down at the small bar area and 2 sake flights, 3 XL shots of Genshu and 3 orders of Yuzu later I was a happy camper. The Yuzu was citrusy and smooth. The Genshu packed a punch and 3 shots later I was feeling it. I started ordering shots and just pouring it in with the Yuzu. I had a lot of fun here. I'd highly recommend this place. Sake was smooth and I enjoyed tasting them.

The sake was strong and delicious. The staff was very friendly and welcoming. I got the sampler platter and the lady behind the counter was sure to talk me through each of the brews on my plate. She was very patient and kind in answering any questions that I had. There is only a small bar area indoors, and some seating outdoors so it may not be the best for large groups. If you find a brew that you like or you are familiar with this place and know what you like, there is a display right at the front where you can purchase a bottle and go.

Izumi, Ontario Spring Water Sake Company, is one of my favorite places to stop when I'm in Toronto. It's located in the Distillery District, which has some fun to browse retail locations. The Mill St. Brewery is close by too, but I like the atmosphere at Izumi better. The brewery is small, but I'm glad they have it open to the public for sale of retail items as well as a bar where you can try some of the variety of sake they have to offer. On a previous visit, I tried their sake tasting fleet. I was able to choose which I wanted to try, and I was really impressed with the knowledge from the staff. The last time I was here I attended one of their brewery tours. They are $15 and you get to taste a variety of sake as well. It was interesting to learn about how Izumi makes their sake and how it differs from other breweries. I was glad to learn that they brew their sake in a more traditional manner, whereas most sakes are produced quickly and cheaply (even in Japan!). The woman who gave the tour was very informative. The crowd who attended the tasting was mostly couples (I went right before New Years), but I met another woman who recently returned to Japan and was glad to talk to her. I would definitely recommend trying some of Izumi's products aside from the sake too. Their soap (which you can try if you use their bathroom) doesn't dry your hands and smells great. I believe they use some of the leftover materials from their sake brewing in the soap. One of my favorite things to get here is their rice ice cream! It's non-dairy and comes in some really great flavors. I've tried them all and really enjoyed them! Go here!

Good sake that's brewed on-site. Great people who are knowledgeable and friendly. Come by on a Saturday or Sunday for a brewery tasting tour for $15 a person!

I love sake and Japanese cuisine, so I was intrigued when I stumbled upon this sake brewery in the distillery district. I didn't do a tour, I just plonked myself down on a stool and started chatting to the guy behind the bar, who turned out to be the owner. He was a wealth of knowledge on sake, super friendly and we were chatting for a good hour I would say. There's sake by the glass, sake cocktails, sake flights and hot sake that comes in a carafe- I ordered a single sake from the menu. What was quite fascinating is some of the health benefits of sake, particularly the by product which is supposed to be incredible for your skin. So ladies and gents, sake products on your face for anti-ageing!

Order: Lemon, Soy, black sesame and red bean ice cream (all infused with sake) I ended up coming late so I missed the tour unfortunately. However, me and my friends hung out at the bar, ate sake infused ice cream and chatted away with the nice bartender/waitress. My personal favorite was the lemon ice cream. It was tangy. I'm not a personal fan of Asian flavors (oh, the irony) but my friends also ended up ordering flavors they didnt like. We did trade-sies which worked out for the best, haha. I took home a sake-politian which tasted delish.

This was an unexpected stop and a treat. Stumbled into this sake bar early in the morning and realized a sake tasting was not a bad idea. They have set flights and tasting well worth the money and the time if you are available I would do the tour too.

+.5 for service This place was a surprise for me. I didn't plan on making a wine tasting stop during my day in the Distillery District, as I wanted to visit this place simply for the architecture feel. However, after seeing a lot of people entering and exiting this brewery, I had to pop my eyes inside to see what the hype was about. Next thing you know, I was sitting down and ordering sake! Since I didn't want to drink a lot as I was driving that day, I stuck to one drink only, and not surprisingly I chose the Nama Nama. I was a bit concerned as I've never drank unpasteurized liquid before and was a bit afraid of foodborne illnesses, but overall I found the taste to be very strong and rich! It also had a nice, lemon-ish limey feel to it...hard to describe it, but if you try it out you'll know what I mean. I didn't manage to do the tour, but from hearing comments from the people I was sitting beside while trying out the Nama Nama, they overwhelmingly enjoyed it. Service was also very good, and all the employees are very knowledgeable about their products and the general brewing process for sake. If you ever wanna know anything about the world of sake, definitely take a visit here!

This little nook in the distillery district is solid! This little cafe/sake brewery has a counter/bar on your right as you walk in - and then on the left is a glassed off area where the sake brewing happens! They have a few info panels along the wall too, if you're into reading about the process. They have a few types of sake on offer, but I tried their Nama Nama signature sake in a small cup, and it was really really nice - fresh and delicious. We even got a little bowl of rice snacks on the house to nibble while we sipped, which I thought was great. They have a sake tasting flight available, but I think next time I drop in i'm all over the shandy - sake and ginger ale! Mindblowing. Other than sake, they offer some miso soup mixes, Sake Kasu (a sake brewing byproduct) and a couple of types of house-made bottled salad dressings. There's also some merch available - bottles and delicate ceramic cups, plus tshirts and other promo merch. I also wondered about what the word "Izumi" meant, as it's all over their merch and cups and whatnot - it means spinning water, which I suppose is appropriate re: the spring water :) My only gripe is the small amount of seating, and that's really it! Nice one. This place is just great!

This place is not that big -- only a few seats. It also sells sake, and other related products. The bartenders are friendly. We tried tasting flight: the two sake with lowest alcohol percentage taste better, but we didn't finish either.

It was nice day in January! (yeah it happens) so I decided to take a walk to Distillery District and try out this place. Its a nice cozy place and they have only 4 spot at the tasting area. I went for the flight and had the the Nama Nama, Crazy Horse and Teion Sakura. I am by no means a connoisseur of sake but do enjoy it when I get a chance. The thing that sets this place apart from the sakes sold at LCBO is that they have some unpasteurized stuff. Kind of hard to find in North America let alone Canada. At 10$ for the flight one can;t complain though the serving is minuscule. Nama Nama is their signature and deserves high praise in fact I was so impressed I ended up buying a small bottle for myself. Crazy horse had more nuanced taste with citrus finish. Sakura was a bit stronger but my palate was unable to identify the subtle taste notes. Ah well I hope I can develop my taste in future to appreciate it. They also sell some ceramic stuff and unique sake byproducts. Interesting stuff like wasabi salad dressing is also sold here. High praise to the staff on service as the server was very knowledgeable and maintained service at a good level in Japanese tradition. Now to find a good sushi place that serves nama nama. Ah well there is always take out :)

Ontario Spring Water Sake Company is a sake distillery in the distillery district. There are tours in the building, but I just came to the small bar area with my friends. They have a selection of ~5-7 sakes and 2-3 sake cocktails. You can also order a flight tasting, with 3 sakes. It's a pretty chill experience, but there isn't a very comprehensive menu so it's hard to justify frequent visits. Definitely worth coming once. The venue is very small for the bar area... maybe seating 6-7? The host goes on to describe the different sakes and why they taste the way they do. I found this interesting. She was very nice. Ordered: Low temperature distilled - much sweeter and fruitier, my favorite! Also less alcohol content Unpasteurized sake - interesting, it has more complex flavor? Pasteurized sake - similar tasting to the unpasteurized sake, but strong and more dry feel Full body sake - very strong at 17%, less flavor, more kick

My family and I came here as part of our vacation and really wanting to learn about sake the right way we found this place . I came on a week day in the morning which I know sounds crazy but I was on vacation. It was just me and my family and we sat down at the bar where we were immediately welcomed by a nice lady. She gave us an amazing lesson on sake and how it's made and the history of it and described each one so well. What I ordered: 1. The Sake Flight What do I think: 1. The Sale flight includes their 3 most popular sake at a very reasonable price . The sake was also amazing and tasted exactly the way she explained Would I go back? In a heartbeat. Although the tour dates are only on the weekend that did not deter them from still giving my family and I a great experience at the bar .

Okay.. I might be inflating the reviewing score here, since I didn't really drink anything. Just a great place to get an idea how Sake was made and always good to pick one bottle or tow home since they made it right there. I kinda really wanna learn how they made the sake.. any change they are hiring??

Sadly the workers closed the doors and curtains at 4:30pm Thursday. (Watched then do it as we were approaching the door) Put up a sign that says they will be back at 0515pm. Yelp says they close at 6pm while google says 7pm.

Ok, so my wife is Japanese and we've had a lot of delicious sake in Japan so the bar was set pretty low when we walked into a Toronto Sake Brewery. Not only were we surprised by the taste but that the girl working there went to my wife's school and knows her friends in Japan. But back to the sake, we tried them all and they were all pretty good. We took 3 bottles to go. Cool building too.