清酒分類
| Criteria | Category | Explanation |
| Amount of rice remaining after polishing | DAIGINJO 50% or less |
he outer layers of a rice grain contain a lot of protein, fat, and minerals, which can make the sake taste heavy and bitter. Polishing away these layers lightens up the flavor of the sake. |
| GINJO 60% to 50% |
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| no special term 60% or more |
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| Distilled alcohol added or not | JUNMAI Not added |
Adding a small amount of distilled alcohol when filtering enhances the sake’s natural aromas. |
| HONJOZO Small amount added |
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| Larger amount added no special term Often called futsu-shu, or standard sake. |
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| Not pasteurized | NAMAZAKE Not pasteurized |
Sake is generally pasteurized twice, once during tank storage and once again during bottling. However, some types of sake are only pasteurized once, or not at all. The less the sake is pasteurized, the fresher and livelier its character remains, but it must be kept refrigerated at all times. If unpasteurized sake is stored at room temperature, enzymes in the sake will continue changing starch to sugar and make the flavor sweeter. Also, in some cases lactic acid bacteria may grow in the bottle, turning the sake cloudy and giving it an unpleasant, sour taste. |
| NAMACHOZO Pasteurized once at bottling | ||
| NAMAZUME Pasteurized once during storage | ||
| Pasteurized twice, first during storage and again at bottling no special term |
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| Water added or not | GENSHU Not added | Freshly brewed sake has a natural alcohol content of 17% to 19%. Although water is added to most types of sake before bottling to reduce the alcohol content to around 15%, some sake, known as GENSHU, is bottled without adding any water. |
| no special term Added |
Added alcohol
Sake is basically fermented, not distilled, but some types of sake do have distilled alcohol added–generally to heighten the fragrance and lighten the taste. Sake with no added alcohol is called junmai; sake with a small amount of added alcohol is called honjozo; and sake with a modest amount of added alcohol is called futsu-shu.
Rice milling rate
Before making sake, the outer layers of the rice grain are milled away, revealing to a greater or lesser degree the pure starch at its core. The amount of milling directly affects the character and quality of the sake. Sake made with rice milled to less than 50% of its original mass is called daiginjo (super premium); and sake made with rice milled to between 60% and 50% is called ginjo (premium). Sake made with rice milled to 60% or more of its original mass may be called variously junmai, honjozo, futsu-shu and so on depending on how it fits into the other criteria.
Pasteurization
Sake is generally pasteurized twice, once during tank storage and once again during bottling. However, some types of sake are only pasteurized at one or the other of these periods. Sake pasteurized during bottling but not during tank storage is called namachozo, and sake pasteurized during tank storage but not during bottling is called namazume. Sake that has never pasteurized is called namazake. The less the sake is pasteurized, the fresher and more lively its flavor remains, but it must be kept refrigerated at all times to preserve freshness. If unpasteurized sake is stored at room temperature for a few days, it will turn cloudy and take on an unpleasant, sour taste.
Added water
Freshly brewed sake has a natural alcohol content of 17% to 19%. Although water is added to most types of sake before bottling to reduce the alcohol content to around 15%, some sake, known as genshu, is bottled without adding any water.