Japanese Sake (Nihonshu)

Sake (nihonshu) is a brewed Japanese rice drink, made from rice, water, koji and yeast. We stock ... more

Sake (nihonshu) is a brewed Japanese rice drink, made from rice, water, koji and yeast. We stock premium bottles from some of Japan's best breweries, for drinking and for the table.

Japan grades sake across eight legally defined tiers — the tokutei meishoshu (特定名称酒) system — with grade determined primarily by how much of the outer rice grain is milled away before brewing. The more the rice is polished, the cleaner and more refined the sake. The main grades:

• Junmai: pure rice sake, full and savoury.
• Junmai Ginjo: rice polished to at least 60%, lighter and more aromatic.
• Junmai Daiginjo: polished to at least 50%, the most refined and fragrant.
• Honjozo: a touch of distilled alcohol added, crisp and easy-drinking.

The range is sourced primarily from Hakutsuru (白鶴), established 1743 in Nada, Kobe — Japan's most productive sake-brewing district, where mineral-rich Miyamizu water and hard winters shaped a style that accounts for a third of Japan's premium sake output.

We also carry speciality styles: aged (koshu), unpasteurised (nama / namazake) and cloudy unfiltered (nigori). From a single Junmai Daiginjo for the coupe to a working Honjozo for the kitchen, the range covers every application on a restaurant sake list. Browse the range below.

Read the Sake Masterclass — grades, producers and service