🍶
Pouring your experience…
Pouring your experience…
Sake grades explained in plain language
Premium sake labels mix two separate ideas. Junmai tells you whether brewer's alcohol was added. Ginjo and daiginjo tell you how far the rice was polished. Once you see that, the grades stop being confusing.
Holding a bottle? Scan the label to see its grade.
| Grade | Polishing ratio | Added alcohol | Typical style |
|---|---|---|---|
| Junmai (純米) | No legal minimum | None | Fuller body, rice and umami, often good warm |
| Honjozo (本醸造) | 70% or less | Small amount allowed | Light, dry, easy with food |
| Junmai Ginjo (純米吟醸) | 60% or less | None | Fruity and floral with more body |
| Ginjo (吟醸) | 60% or less | Small amount allowed | Aromatic, lighter and crisp |
| Junmai Daiginjo (純米大吟醸) | 50% or less | None | Most refined, silky, layered aroma |
| Daiginjo (大吟醸) | 50% or less | Small amount allowed | Very aromatic, clean and light |
Polishing ratio (精米歩合, seimaibuai) is how much of each grain remains: 60% means 40% was polished away.
The outer layers of a rice grain hold more protein and fat, which can add heavier, earthier flavours. Polishing them away leaves the starchy core, so more polishing generally means a cleaner, lighter and more aromatic sake. Ginjo requires 60% or less and daiginjo 50% or less. Junmai has no legal minimum, so a junmai can be lightly or heavily polished; many labels show the exact figure.
Sake without the word junmai may contain a small amount of brewer's alcohol (醸造アルコール, jozo alcohol), a neutral distilled spirit added near the end of fermentation. Sake made this way is often called aru-ten. For honjozo, ginjo and daiginjo the amount is capped at 10% of the weight of the polished rice. It lightens the body and helps carry aroma out of the mash, which is why many aru-ten ginjo taste especially crisp and fragrant. It is a style choice, not a shortcut.
Junmai leans toward rice, umami and a fuller texture. Ginjo and daiginjo are known for ginjo-ka, a fruity, floral aroma often described as apple, pear, melon or banana, with a smoother, lighter palate.
Serve ginjo and daiginjo chilled, around 10–15°C, ideally in a wine glass. Junmai and honjozo are the most versatile: chilled, room temperature or gently warmed (about 40°C).
More polishing uses more rice and more careful brewing per bottle, so daiginjo generally costs more than ginjo, and ginjo more than a basic junmai. There is plenty of overlap, and brand, region and rarity matter too.
Junmai handles richer dishes such as grilled meat, yakitori and hot pot. Ginjo and daiginjo suit lighter food: sashimi, white fish, fresh cheese or simply sipping on their own.
Rich, savoury sake for dinner or for warming
Junmai (or honjozo)
Fruity, fragrant sake to sip chilled
Ginjo or junmai ginjo
A special-occasion bottle or a gift
Daiginjo or junmai daiginjo
Something light and dry for everyday meals
Honjozo or a dry ginjo
The fullest expression of the rice
Anything labelled junmai (純米)
New to sake? See the best sake for beginners for easy first bottles.
They describe different things. Junmai (純米) means no brewer's alcohol was added: only rice, water, koji and yeast. Ginjo (吟醸) means the rice was polished to 60% or less of its original weight and brewed with the slow, cool ginjo method, which brings out fruity, floral aroma. A sake can be both: junmai ginjo.
Polishing. Ginjo uses rice polished to 60% or less; daiginjo goes further, to 50% or less. Removing more of the outer grain usually gives a lighter, cleaner, more aromatic sake, and it takes more rice and more work per bottle.
No. Daiginjo is the most heavily polished grade, not an automatic quality ranking. Many people prefer a rich junmai with food or served warm. Pick by the flavour and occasion you want rather than by grade alone.
Not in premium grades. Honjozo, ginjo and daiginjo may include a small amount of neutral distilled alcohol (jozo alcohol), capped at 10% of the polished rice weight. Brewers use it to lighten the body and lift aroma, and plenty of highly regarded ginjo and daiginjo are made this way.
Usually chilled. Their fruity, floral aroma shows best around 10–15°C in a wine glass, and strong heat tends to flatten it. Junmai and honjozo are the classic choices for warming.
Look for the grade words: 純米 (junmai), 本醸造 (honjozo), 吟醸 (ginjo), 大吟醸 (daiginjo) and combinations such as 純米吟醸. The polishing ratio appears as 精米歩合 followed by a percentage. Or scan the label with SakeSpirit and it will read the grade for you.
Scan the label and SakeSpirit reads the grade, polishing ratio and style, then introduces the spirit of that bottle.
Free to try · Also available in 日本語