Glossary of sake terms

A cup of amazake

Acidity

The quality of sake that gives it its crispiness and vitality. A proper balance of acidity must be struck with the other elements of a sake, or else the sake may be said to be too sharp – having disproportionately high levels of acidity – or too flat – having disproportionately low levels of acidity.

Alcohol

Generally refers to ethanol, a chemical compound found in alcoholic beverages. It is also commonly used to refer to alcoholic beverages in general.

Alcoholic fermentation

The conversion by yeast of sugar into alcohol compounds

Amakuchi 甘口

sweeter than neutral sake

Amazake 甘酒

a traditional sweet, low-alcoholic Japanese drink made from fermented rice.

Aminosan-do アミノ酸度

the taste of umami or savoriness. As the proportion of amino acids rises, the sake tastes more savory. This number is determined by formol titration of the sake with a mixture of sodium hydroxide solution and formaldehyde, and is equal to the milliliters of 0.1mol/l sodium hydroxide required to neutralize the amino acids in 10 ml of sake.

Atsukan 熱燗

heated sake; typically only lower-quality sake is served hot, as high heat tends to destroy subtle flavors and aromas. Mostly consumed in cold winter months.

Daiginjō-shu 大吟醸酒

Very special brew sake made from highly-polished (polished to 50% or less) rice and fermented at low temperature

Doburoku 濁酒

the classic home-brew style of sake although home brewing is illegal in Japan. It is created by simply adding kōji mold to steamed rice and water and letting the mixture ferment. The resulting sake is somewhat like a chunkier version of nigorizake.

Fukumi-ka 含み香

sake aromas smelled retronasally

Fukurozuri 袋吊り

a method of separating sake from the lees without external pressure by hanging the mash in bags and allowing the liquid to drip out under its own weight. Sake produced this way is sometimes called shizukuzake (雫酒), meaning "drip sake".

Futsū-shu 普通酒

ordinary sake

Genmai 玄米

unpolished rice

Genshu 原酒

undiluted sake. Most sake is diluted with water after brewing to lower the alcohol content from 18–20% down to 14–16%, but genshu is not.

Ginjō-shu 吟醸酒

Special brew sake made from rice polished to 60% or less and fermented at low temperature

Gomi 五味

five flavors (sweet, salty, spicy, sour, bitter)

Hi-ire 火入れ

pasteurization; lit. heating

Hire-zake ひれ酒 or 鰭酒

hot sake with grilled fish fins, especially fugu or sea bream

Hitohada 人肌 or 人膚

body temperature sake

Honjōzō-shu 本醸造酒

Sake made from rice, koji, water, and a small amount of added alcohol for balance. Rice polished to 70% or less of its original size.

Ichi-go 一合

one serving of sake, about 180ml

Izakaya 居酒屋

Japanese bar that serves sake and other drinks along with bar snacks

Jizake 地酒

locally brewed sake, the equivalent of microbrewing beer.

Jōmai 蒸米

steamed rice

Jōon 常温

room temperature sake

Jukusei-ka 熟成香

the scent of maturation

Junmai Daiginjō-shu 純米大吟醸酒

Very special brew sake made only from highly-polished (polished to 50% or less) rice, water and kōji

Junmai-shu 純米酒

Pure sake made only from rice, water, and kōji

Kagami biraki 鏡開き

the opening of a Kagami mochi, or to the opening of a cask of sake at a party or ceremony

Kagamiwari 鏡割り

breaking open a ceremonial sake barrel with wooden mallets

Kakemai 掛け米

steamed rice which is added to the fermenting moromi

Kanzake 燗酒

warmed sake

Kanzamashi 燗冷まし

Hot sake that has cooled

Kappu-zake カップ酒

single serving glass of cheap sake with a pull-off top

Karakuchi 辛口

dry taste

Kassei seishu 活性清酒

"active sake" with secondary fermentation in bottle like Champagne and potentially explosive effervescence upon opening

Kashira 頭

the second-in-command at the brewery, responsible for daily brewing operations

Kasu 粕

pressed sake lees, the solids left after pressing and filtering. These are used for making pickles, livestock feed, and shōchū, and as an ingredient in dishes like kasu soup.

Katakuchi 片口

wide sake decanter made of ceramic, glass or metal

Kijōshu 貴醸酒

A complex sake that is made by replacing some of the water used in brewing with sake

Kimoto 生酛

the traditional orthodox method for preparing the starter mash, which includes the laborious process of grinding it into a paste. This method was the standard for 300 years, but it is rare today.

Kōbo 酵母

yeast

Kōchūka 口中香

aroma of sake in the mouth experienced retronasally

Kodaishu 古代酒

dark and funky sake brewed according to ancestral methods

Kōji 麹

rice made with kōjikin

Kōji-bana 麹バナ

a nutty aroma caused by the sake mold unique to freshly pressed, non-pasteurized sake

Kōjikin 麹菌

the mold Aspergillus oryzae used to break down rice starches into fermentable sugars, and then into alcohol

Koku 石 or 斛

traditional unit of volume, approx. 180.4 litres

Koshiki 甑

steaming basket

Koshu 古酒

"aged sake". Most sake does not age well, but this specially made type can age for decades, turning yellow and acquiring a honeyed flavor.

Kuchiatari 口当たり

the immediate first impression upon sake hitting the palate

Kura 蔵 or 倉 or 庫

cellar

Kurabito 蔵人 or 藏人

cellar worker

Kuroshu 黒酒

sake made from unpolished rice (brown rice), and is more like Chinese rice wine.

Masu

Moromi, the main mash

Masu 枡 or 升[1]

originally a square wooden box used to measure rice during the feudal period. Masu existed in many sizes, typically covering the range from one to (一斗枡 ittomasu, c. 18 L) to one gō (一合枡 ichigōmasu, c. 0.18 L). Today masu are largely used for drinking sake, as the advent of modern rice cookers and a higher calorie diet in Japan has made them impractical for measuring portions of rice, and the standard size is one gō, or 0.18039 L.

Moto 酛

yeast starter

Moromi 諸味 or 醪

main fermenting mash in production of sake or soy sauce

Muroka 無濾過

unfiltered. It refers to sake that has not been carbon filtered, but which has been pressed and separated from the lees, and thus is clear, not cloudy. Carbon filtration can remove desirable flavors and odors as well as bad ones, thus muroka sake has stronger flavors than filtered varieties.

Mushimai 蒸し米

steamed rice

Nigorizake

Namagusai 生臭い or 腥い

raw fish stink or taste, amplified in sushi tasting when beer or some wines are consumed rather than sake

Nama Chozōshu 生貯蔵酒

essentially a semi-Namazake, this sake is stored unpasteurized and heated only once before shipping to conserve the nama freshness while reducing the risk of spoilage

Namazake 生酒

sake that has not been pasteurized. It requires refrigerated storage and has a shorter shelf-life than pasteurized sake.

Nigorizake 濁り酒

cloudy sake. The sake is passed through a loose mesh to separate it from the mash. It is not filtered thereafter and there is much rice sediment in the bottle. Before serving, the bottle is shaken to mix the sediment and turn the sake white or cloudy.

Nihonshu 日本酒

Lit. "Japanese liquor", a more specific term than sake, which can mean any kind of alcohol

Nihonshu-do 日本酒度

calculated from the specific gravity of the sake, and used to indicate the sugar and alcohol content of the sake on an arbitrary scale. Typical values are between −3 (sweet) and +10 (dry), equivalent to specific gravities ranging between 1.007 and 0.998

Nuka 糠

powder that has been polished away from rice kernels

O-choko お猪口

small, cylindrical sake cup

Orizake 澱酒

a sake with barely visible sediment

Regyura-shu レギュラー酒

basic, cheap sake, typically with less-complex aromas and flavors, and sometimes with added sugars

reishu 冷酒

chilled sake

Roka 濾過

the filtering process

Sake brewery with a hanging sugitama (杉玉) globe of cedar leaves

Sakagura 酒蔵 or 酒倉

sake brewery

Sakana 肴

appetizer or snack served with drinks

Sakaya 酒屋

liquor store; wine shop; sake dealer

Sakazuki 杯 or 酒盃

a small porcelain cup

Saketini

a cocktail that uses sake as its base, along with other ingredients such as simple syrups, distilled spirits, liqueurs, juices and garnishes. The name saketini is a portmanteau of "sake" and "martini".

Sandan shikomi 三段仕込み

a common 3-stage process of adding rice, kōji, and water to the moromi

San-do 酸度

the concentration of acid, which is determined by titration with sodium hydroxide solution. This number is equal to the milliliters of 0.1M NaOH titrant required to neutralize the acid in 10 ml (0.35 imp fl oz; 0.34 US fl oz) of sake. [2]

Sanyaku 三役

the three brewery workers responsible for the yeast starter, a term derived from sumō

Seibun 成分

ingredient; component

Seimai 精米

rice polishing

Seimai-buai 精米歩合

the rice polishing ratio, the percentage of weight remaining after polishing. Generally, the lower the number, the better the sake's potential. A lower percentage usually results in a fruitier sake, whereas a higher percentage will taste more like rice.

Seimaiki 精米機

rice huller; rice polishing machine

Seishu 清酒

Lit. "clear liquor", the legal term for sake printed on all sake labels.

Shiboritate 搾立て

"freshly pressed", refers to sake that has been shipped without the traditional six-month aging/maturation period. The result is usually a more acidic, "greener" sake.

Shimpaku 芯白

the opaque, white center of a polished rice kernel

Shinseki 浸漬

rice soaking

Shinshu 新酒

"new sake", sake released in late winter or early spring

Shinshu-bana 新酒バナ

new sake aroma, young, green, ripe aromas

Shizukuzake 雫酒

meaning "drip sake", a method of separating sake from the lees without external pressure by hanging the mash in bags and allowing the liquid to drip out under its own weight by gravity.

Shubo 酒母

Lit. "mother of sake", yeast mash; yeast starter

Sokujō 速醸

"quick fermentation", is a method of preparing the starter mash, invented in late Meiji Period (around 1900) by Eda Kenjiro.[3] Lactic acid, produced naturally in the two slower traditional methods, is added to the starter to inhibit unwanted bacteria. Sokujō sake tends to have a lighter flavor than kimoto or yamahai.

Sugitama 杉玉

ball made from sprigs of Japanese cedar (杉, sugi), traditionally hung in the eaves of sake breweries

Tamagozake 卵酒 or 玉子酒

a cocktail consisting of heated sake, sugar and a raw egg

Taruzake 樽酒

sake aged in wooden barrels or bottled in wooden casks. The wood used is Cryptomeria (杉, sugi), which is also known as Japanese cedar. Sake casks are often tapped ceremonially for the opening of buildings, businesses, parties, etc. Because the wood imparts a strong flavor, premium sake is rarely used for this type.

Teiseihaku-shu 低精白酒

sake with a deliberately high rice-polishing ratio. It is generally held that the lower the rice polishing ratio (the percent weight after polishing), the better the potential of the sake. However, beginning around 2005, teiseihaku-shu has been produced as a specialty sake made with high rice-polishing ratios, usually around 80%, to produce sake with the characteristic flavor of rice itself.

Tejaku 手酌

the faux pas of pouring one's own drink

Tobingakoi 斗瓶囲い

sake pressed into one to (斗, 18-liter (4.0 imp gal; 4.8 U.S. gal)) bottles (斗瓶, "tobin") with the brewer selecting the best sake of the batch for shipping.

Tōji 杜氏

the head sake brewer at a sake brewery

Tokubetsu Honjōzō-shu 特別本醸造酒

Special Genuine brew, to differentiate from a brewery's regular Honjōzō

Tokubetsu Junmai-shu 特別純米酒

Special pure rice sake made with rice polished to 60% or less of its original size. Costs more than a brewery's regular junmai.

Tokkuri 徳利

sake bottle which is tall and slender with a narrow mouth made from ceramic, metal or glass

Tokutei meishō-shu 特定名称酒

special-designation sake, collectively referring to honjozoshu, junmaishu, and ginjoshu

Umami 旨味 or うまみ

fundamental flavor arising from glutamates, found in sake, tomatoes, cheese, meat, etc.

Uwadachi-ka 上立ち香

the initial smell of sake as the most volatile aromatic compounds rise from the glass

Yamahai 山廃

a simplified version of the kimoto method, introduced in the early 1900s. Yamahai skips the step of making a paste out of the starter mash. That step of the kimoto method is known as yama-oroshi, and the full name for yamahai is "yama-oroshi haishi" (山卸廃止), meaning "discontinuation of yama-oroshi." While the yamahai method was originally developed to speed production time, it is slower than the modern method and is now used only in specialty brews for the earthy flavors it produces.

Yongōbin 四合瓶

a 720ml bottle of alcohol, literally a "four gō bottle"

• Glossary of viticulture terms
• Glossary of winemaking terms
• Glossary of wine terms
• Sake set

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• National Research Institute of Brewing (2013). "Glossary of Terms on Sake Bottle Labels, 3rd version"
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• Morewood, Samuel (1824). An Essay on the Inventions and Customs of Both Ancients and Moderns in the Use of Inebriating Liquors: Interspersed with Interesting Anecdotes, Illustrative of the Manners and Habits of the Principal Nations of the World, with an Historical View of the Extent and Practice of Distillation. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green. OCLC 213677222.
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