Tokyo - I had a great dinner with business partners today and drank a very delicious sake - Dassai 39. The taste was light and very smooth, The 39 in its name means the rice was milled down to 39% of its original size. That is premium sake very rare to find in Japan.
Even really cheap sake has some of the outer core of rice polished away for efficient brewing, because the starch in sake rice is concentrated in the center, but really cheap sake might have a ratio of 90%.
Even really cheap sake has some of the outer core of rice polished away for efficient brewing, because the starch in sake rice is concentrated in the center, but really cheap sake might have a ratio of 90%.
Premium sake starts at 70%. The definition of Ginjo sake is that it is polished to at least 60%. There are noticeable changes at this level; ginjo sake is usually lighter and more aromatic. Daiginjo means a sake that has been polished to at least 50%. Daiginjo literally means “big ginjo”
Every bottle of premium sake lists the polishing ratio on it as a percentage. The number actually means the amount of the inner core of the rice that remains. In other words, if a bottle says 39% polishing ratio (“seimaibuai” in Japanese), then 61% of each grain has been polished away. That 39, by the way, would be a very high-end sake, unusual to see in a restaurant in Japan.
Adding to this premium Sake was the food, our Japanese host was very gracious and hospitable.
Every bottle of premium sake lists the polishing ratio on it as a percentage. The number actually means the amount of the inner core of the rice that remains. In other words, if a bottle says 39% polishing ratio (“seimaibuai” in Japanese), then 61% of each grain has been polished away. That 39, by the way, would be a very high-end sake, unusual to see in a restaurant in Japan.
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| Dassai 39 |
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| Our dinner |
That was our platter of fresh seafood and vegetables to be cooked to our liking. It was a wonderful evening.
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