The state's lone rice wine star

For proof that you can discover more in Japan than the fact that Scarlett Johansson was not at her hottest in Ghost World, check out TX Sake Company, whose founder was inspired by a Rising Sun ramble to go with the grain and create the state's first certified organic alcohol.

After hand-washing rice from a lower Colorado plot originally seeded by Japanese immigrants 100yrs ago, TXSC steams the bounty with water from the same area, then mixes it with mold spores to create a feeder called koji, which is then added to yeast and open-air fermented for up to a month before pasteurization -- after which you'll proudly admit you're a Loui-ser.

The sauce is available in two 16% ABV varietals: Rising Star, a sweeter, sediment-filled Nigori with hints of vanilla and an intense full-bodied rice flavor; and a clear Tokubetsu Junmai with fruitier notes of apple and pear called Whooping Crane, named after the only crane found in both TX and Japan, aside from the type that builds things in said bird's former habitats.

To celebrate their first batch they're holding a party at their N Lamar headquarters with tastings, food from Sushi a Go Go, and even a speech from Houston's Japanese Consulate, whose congratulatory message might get lost in translation.