Takara Sake USA Inc.

Open: Year Round

Type of Sake

Sake can be divided into the following groups according to the type of brewing process.

Junmai

The name means "pure rice". Junmai is sake composed of only rice, water, koji and sake yeast. No other ingredients or additives, such as alcohol or sugar, are added. The rice that has been polished to 70% or less of its original size is used to brew. The sake character tends to have a full-bodied and slightly acidic.

Honjozo

In this sake, not more than 120 liters or raw alcohol per each metric ton of white rice and no glucose have been added during brewing process.Added alcohol cannnot exceed 25% of the total alcohol in the finished product. In the U.S. it is not legal to make Honjozo or to add alcohol to sake. Imported Honjozo is categorized into distilled spirits.

The sake character tends to lighter than Junmai.

Ginjo

Ginjo is a special type of Junmai or Honjozo, and considered the highest achievement of the brewer's art. All the rice employed in brewing Ginjo must be polished to at least 60% of its original size. Dai-Ginjo is brewed with the rice polished to at least 50%. In many Ginjo brewers use special yeasts in making Moto, and ferment the final mash very slowly at low temperature. This extra effort produce a sake that is lighter, clean taste and tangy flavor and an aroma.

Nama

Nama means "Draft sake". In this sake, fresh sake is microfiltered instead of other sake is pasteurized twice, once before aging and once in the process of bottling. Nama is fruity and fresh taste with pleasant aroma.

Nigori

Nigori -"Cloudy"- sake is unfilterd or roughly filterd so that some Moromi in the fermenting tank make it into the bottle. This sake is a milky white appearance.
Nigori is bold and sweet taste.

Genshu

Genshu is undiluted sake. After filtration, sake has an alcohol content of around 19%. Most of sake on the market have been diluted with water until their alcohol contents falls to between 12 and 16%. Genshu is full-bodied and rich taste.