One of the greatest challenges for the rest of us non-Japanese speaking folk who love sake is figuring out just what’s written on the labels of sake bottles. Sake brewers in Japan tend to be very traditional, and most labels on sake bottles are fully in Japanese, with kanji and hiragana that’s probably practically undecipherable to non-Japanese drinkers and enthusiasts.

That doesn’t mean that sake labels are complete inaccessible to non-Japanese speakers. The labels on sake bottles follow a standardized set of Japanese regulations, so you should always be able to know what to expect when reading a sake label.

Let’s break down what goes into the label of one of Japan’s most famous premium sakes – the Dassai 45!

1. Specific Designations

The specific designations of the sake can also refer to the sake’s respective sake grades. Sake grades and designations are assigned based on the rice polishing ratio (for a more detailed breakdown on the sake grades, click here).

The Dassai 45 is a 純米大吟醸 (Junmai Daiginjo). Here’s a table of the sake designations with their respective Japanese characters and English transliterations:

2. Type of Alcoholic Beverage

The type of alcoholic beverage indicated on the sake label can tell you about what type of sake is in the bottle. For the Dassai 45, 清酒 (seishu) is the official legal term for Japanese sake as we know it. This is helpful to avoid confusion in buying another type of Japanese spirt (such as shochu or awamori) accidentally.

3. Raw Ingredients

The raw ingredients that go into sake are sake rice, water, sake yeast, and occasionally, brewer’s alcohol.

4. Alcohol Content

The alcohol content for sake typically ranges from 15% to 20%. Dassai 45 has an alcoholic content of 16%.

5. Rice polishing ratio

The rice polishing ratio, or degree of rice polishing, indicates the percentage of sake rice remaining after the grain’s outer layer of proteins and lipids has been polished off. Taking the Dassai 45, for instance, indicates that 45% of the sake rice grain is remaining, while 55% of the rice grain has been polished off.

6. Name and address of the sake brewery

Part of the Japanese regulations on sake labels also requires that the name and address of the sake brewery is clearly printed on the label. Asahi Shuzo (the sake brewery that produces the Dassai 45) also provides us with a telephone number to contact if we want to reach out to them about their sakes.

We hope this was a useful guide for you on your journey through the world of Japanese sakes!

Happy sipping!

@ChopstickPride