Nov 8

Nov 8 Sake rice

The polish of the sake rice also has a hand in the taste of sake.

Sake rice is bigger than the regular rice you would use to eat, so, many breweries use a special kind of rice to make sake.

Making sake involves removing the external layer of brown rice. Some sake brands polish 30%–50% of the external layer, and in others, it can be even more. The polished to unpolished ratio of the rice determines which category the sake falls into. A less polished rice creates a more full-bodied and rich flavoured sake. A more polished rice results in a fruitier, crispier, cleaner, and lighter flavoured sake.

For example, to qualify as a Daiginjo / Junmai Daiginjo sake, the rice grain must polish off 50% or more of the external layer. On the other hand, to be considered a Ginjo / Junmai Ginjo sake, the rice grain must polish off 40% or more of the external layer. Generally, the more polished the rice, the more expensive the sake.

The Tatenokawa Sake Brewery (est. in 1832) in Yamagata, Japan made a rare Daiginjo which was made with rice that was 99% polished off. The sake was named “Komyo” and was the most expensive sake made in 2017. There were only 200 bottles made. Each bottle costs ¥100,000 which converts to about AU$1,300 for 720ml. Hong Kong is the highest sake importing country in the world. The Hong Kong market price for the Komoyo was 6 times higher than the original price it sold for in Japan.

Tatenokawa Sake Brewery is the only brewery in the world that makes the Junmai Daiginjo class sake. No other brewery in the world has been able to polish the sake rice down to 1%. Also, for the Tatenokawa Sake Brewery, it took 72 days (1,800 hours) to polish the rice down to that degree– which is very costly.

If you are interested in buying the Tatenokawa Sake, here is the link to their website. Tatenokawa Junmai Daiginjo is also available in Australia at Dan Murphy’s.