Carolina Gold rice has a long and rich history in the United Sates and we are proud to bring you a refreshing new way to enjoy this heirloom grain. Our unique multi cultural process relies on traditional Japanese knowledge, an African heritage grain and a uniquely American sense of ingenuity. We invite you to follow the journey from our rice fields in the Lowcountry of South Carolina to the bottle in your hand. 

There have been very few instances in which table rice (or non Japanese sake rice) has been used to make classic Japanese sake. 

This is likely why Carolina Gold Rice had never been used to make a top quality sake. Until now.

Hagood Coxe made the decision to craft Carolina Gold Sake in 2015. Her father had been growing Carolina Gold rice for nearly 20 years and the family has been farming on the Pee Dee River in South Carolina for three generations. She was determined to find new and exciting ways for people to experience and enjoy Carolina Gold.

To successfully create such a new and unique form of sake Hagood needed help (lots of it) from skilled professionals. Prominent local distributors at Savannah Distributing connected Hagood to Haruo Okasorah, the president of Chiyomusibi, whose family is unrivaled in their experience making top quality sake since 1865!

Chiyomusubi and Hagood eventually partnered after her visit to Japan in search of refined techniques and an understanding of sake culture. There, she and her partners developed the recipe that produces the premium beverage we offer today.

The journey of the sake begins in Darlington, South Carolina. Once harvested in September, the rice is milled to 70% of its original size and sorted by weight and shape. 

It is then shipped to Osaka, Japan, where it is picked up by our partners and taken to Chiyomusubi brewery in Sakaiminato. There, in a small ocean side town in Tottori province Hagood joins the brewers of Chiyomusubi and Carolina Gold sake is made.  

In little over a month, the rice is inoculated with Koji mold, fermented, pressed and pasteurized. The final product is approved for quality, bottled and shipped back into the United States for distribution. A more detailed explanation of this process can be found here.