Pacific International Liquor (PIL) is a leading Japanese sake importer and brand owner behind exclusive, top-selling sake brands including KUROSAWA, KIGEN, and LUCKY CUP. PIL also proudly imports KAWABA Beer, one of the most recognized Japanese craft beer brands in the United States.
Founded in 1997, PIL was built on a simple but ambitious vision: to introduce authentic Japanese craft sake to the American market at a time when premium sake culture barely existed outside Japan.
In the late 1990s, sake in the U.S. was still largely associated with inexpensive hot sake served in small carafes at sushi restaurants. Meanwhile in Japan, domestic sake consumption was declining, and many historic breweries were struggling to survive.
PIL founder Jun Tanaka believed there was a different future for sake.
While searching for breweries that could represent the depth and craftsmanship of Japanese sake culture abroad, he encountered Kurosawa Brewery in Nagano, a historic kura with generations of brewing tradition.
However, the brewery’s existing products at the time — including sake sold under the difficult-to-pronounce name “Izutsucho” — were highly traditional and tailored almost exclusively to experienced Japanese sake drinkers.
Rather than simply importing existing products, Jun Tanaka worked directly inside the brewery to help create a sake that could introduce authentic kimoto-style sake to the American market without compromising its integrity.
After two years of collaboration and development, KUROSAWA Junmai Kimoto was born.
That partnership became the foundation of PIL.
Today, PIL represents eight Japanese sake breweries, maintaining close long-term relationships with each kura we work with. We do far more than move products from one side of the Pacific to the other. We collaborate closely with our brewery partners to identify and develop the bottles that best represent their craftsmanship, heritage, and regional identity — then introduce them to the American market and beyond.
Over the past two decades, PIL has helped pioneer premium sake culture in the United States while contributing to the international recognition of Japanese craft sake in Europe and other global markets.
At PIL, we serve as a multicultural bridge between Japanese brewers and global consumers, restaurants, retailers, distributors, and hospitality professionals who are shaping the future of sake culture worldwide.