Sake 101

Sake, say it with us. Sah-kay.

Sake is a rice-based alcoholic beverage, brewed like beer with complex aromas and textures, like wine. Sake rice is milled (or polished) to release impurities, and categories are established by the milled percentage (don't worry, we've explained in more detail below).

A combination of water, koji, and rice allows starches to be converted into fermentable sugars. Some sake categories add a small amount of distilled alcohol at the end of the brewing process to accentuate aromas and textures.

We proudly serve the following sake categories:

• Honjozo. Honjozo sake rice is milled 30% with 70% of each grain remaining, and a very small amount of distilled alcohol is added. It is light and fragrant and easy to drink.
• Junmai. Junmai sake has a full-bodied taste with acidic tendencies. The rice is milled 30% with 70% of each grain remaining.
• Ginjo. Ginjo sake is when the rice is milled 40%, leaving 60% of the grain remaining and a very small amount of distilled alcohol is added. Ginjo sake is typically light, aromatic, fruity and refined.
• Junmai Gingo. Junmai Gingo is more complex, layered and fragrant, yet lighter and more delicate than Junmai. Junmai Ginjo rice is milled 40% leaving 60% of each grain remaining.
• Junmai Daiginjo. This category is highly polished with more precise and labor-intensive methods, is milled at 50% with the purest starch of each grain remaining. Junmai Daiginjo is aromatic, generally light, complex and fragrant.
• Nigori. Nigori sakes fall into the same category as Junmai Daiginjo, but are deliberately unfiltered and typically posses a white or cloudy appearance. Nigoris are usually the sweetest of all sakes wiht a fruity nose and a mild flavor, making for a great dessert sake or complement to spicy foods.

Join us at any Blue Sushi Sake Grill location for Sake Tuesday, when premium cold sake bottles are half-off.

If that's not enough, here are 7 more reasons to sip this Japanese staple.