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== Daiginjō: ==
• Ultra-premium Sake with rice polished at 50% minimum and at low temperature. With just a little bit of added alcohol. Usually very fragrant and complex.

== Futsūshu: ==
• Normal Sake—anything without a special designation.

== Genshu: ==
• Undiluted Sake, the equivalent of Natural Cask Strength.

== Ginjō: ==
• Premium Sake with polished under 60% at low temperature Every step of the complex brewing process is performed in old, time-consuming ways that provide a handmade touch of quality. Up to ten percent of pure alcohol can been added. No additives. Lighter and more fragrant than Junmai Ginjō, with floral flavours.

== Honjōzō: ==
• Sake brewed with rice milled so that no more than 70% of the grain remains. Up to thirty percent pure alcohol can be added (less than 10% of the weight of rice) at the end of the fermentation just before pressing. No additives. It is light and dry.

== Jizake: ==
• Sake from smaller, local kura (not mass produced)

== Junmai: ==
• Literally meaning "pure rice". Sake that is just made from rice, kōji, water and yeast. No minimum polishing rate required since 2005. Usually powerful, full-bodied Sake with notes of rice and often some hints of fruit.

== Junmai Daiginjō: ==
• Ultra-premium Sake brewed with rice having a polishing rate of at least 50%, ''kōji'', water and yeast. Combines great harmony of flavour and Umami. Brewing Junmai Daiginjō requires the highest level of skills from the ''tōji''. This is the Sake along with Daiginjō for the most demanding connoisseur.

== Junmai Ginjō: ==
• Sake brewed with rice having a polishing rate of at least 60%, ''kōji'', water and yeast. Sturdier than Ginjō, but fruity and flavourful.

== Namazake: ==
• Sake that has not been pasteurised. Very fresh taste, can have sometimes a slight fizziness.

== Nigorizake: ==
• Sake that got only slightly filtered through rough cloth. Cloudy color, fresh taste and creamy texture. Can also be obtained by adding back some ''kasu'' (lees) to Sake.

== Seishu: ==
• Literally meaning "pure or clear Sake". Legal term for Sake required by the National Tax Agency.

== Taruzake: ==
• Sake stored in wooden barrels made from Japanese cedar (''sugi''). This infuses the Sake with the distinctive aroma and flavour of cedar.

History and Culture Timeline

2020-07-13T10:18:15Z

MasterCharlyIten: /* The Muromachi period (1338-1573) */

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== *Jomon period (14000-300 BC) ==
- Wild grapes – sign of the first alcoholic beverage
- According to recent research, first evidence of wet rice cultivation in China, which is believed to have been exported to Japan.

== *Yayoi period (about 300 BC – 250 AD) ==
- Technological advancement and confirmed brewing of sake in Japan.

== *Kofun / Asuka period (250 AD- 710 AD) ==
- Sake for Gods / Emperor
- Doburoku - unfiltered or muddy sake –
- Brewing department was established at the imperial palace in Nara in 689.
- Sake was recorded in Japanese history books such as Kojiki and Nihonshoki.

== *Nara period (710-794) ==
- Sake started to be brewed using koji (kamutachi); this method spread throughout the country.

== *Heian period (794-1185) ==
- Engishiki was published in 927. Talks about brewing Sake using rice, kōji and water, even warmed sake!
Sake production also began to start at shrines and buddhist temples becoming famous for their ''sōbōshu'' (monk's Sake).

== The Kamakura period (1185-1333) ==
• First steps to a commercialisation of Sake production while the demand among the common people also increased. However, the habit of drinking Sake for non-religious occasions became a social problem forcing the government to establish a prohibition in 1252.

== The Muromachi period (1338-1573) ==
• Prohibition was repealed by the government. As the Sake production flourished again the government started to collect taxes from the Sake brewers, among them still temples that continued to produce Sake of good quality. Especially in the Nara area Sake making progressed as the Bodaisan Shōryakuji invented the Bodaimoto technique. Historically not clearly verified, however, is the upcoming of ''morohaku-tsukuri'', which features the use of polished rice not only for ''kakemai'' but also for ''kōjimai''. Though the first written record is to be found in the Tamon'in-nikki for the year 1560 it can't be fully excluded that ''morohaku-tsukuri'' might already be known by the end of Heian period. Also in the Tamon'in-nikki is a record dated to 1568 that mentions the ''sandan-shikomi'' technique, which became production standard during Edo period. The same goes for the ''hiire'' technique with its record in the Tamon'in-nikki in 1569.

== The Azuchi-Momoyama period (1573-1603) ==
• The provincial wars among ''daimyō'' (feudal lords) reached their peak. As a result of that also temples got destroyed leading to a decline of ''sōbōshu''.

== The Edo period (1603-1868) ==
• Sake production nearly reached its completion in terms of production processes still applied today. The following standards got established: Practice of making Sake only during the winter season (''kanzukuri''), which provided the best conditions as well as the easiest time to obtain farmers as brewery workers. Establishment of the multi-layered hierarchy of the brew master (''tōji'') system, based on the knowledge and expertise of each brewery worker. Pasteurisation (''hiire'') became common practice. ''Sandan-shikomi'' (three steps brewing) prevailed as a new standard , which made the main mash‘s fermenting process much more safe. Addition of high-alcohol to the main mash (''hashira shōchū'') in order to prevent spoilage by unwanted bacteria, to help adjust and enhance aroma and flavour was introduced. Filtering Sake with wood ash, which resulted in a water clear, pure Sake (''sumisake'' or ''seishu''), was introduced. In Nada the power of water was used for polishing rice along with the use of the newly discovered Miyamizu water.

== Meiji period (1868-1912) ==
• In 1872 Nihonshu (Japanese Sake) made its international debut at the Vienna International Exposition. In 1895 naturally occurring Sake yeast was isolated for the first time. 1901 the ''isshōbin'', a 1.8 litre glass bottle, was created, which gave way to a higher consumer quality assurance compared to the former traditional wooden barrels. Heavy taxation of alcoholic beverages was imposed by the Japanese government.

== Taishō period (1912-1926) ==
• The quality of Sake got steadily improved. Further developments like enamel and stainless steel tanks around 1923 eased production processes.

== Shōwa Period (1926-1989) ==
• In 1933 the ''tategata seimaiki'' (vertical rice polishing machine) was invented, which heavily supported the birth of refined Sake. In 1943 a Sake classification system was introduced including the ''tokkyū'' (special), ''ikkyū'' (first) and ''nikyū'' (second) level. The method of ''sanbaizōjō'' ( Sake tripled in quantity with added aclohol, sugar and acidulants), introduced after the war due to rice shortage, was banned in 2006. In 1961 year-round Sake production became possible thanks to the development of new technology. Shipping volume of Sake reached a peak in 1973 along with a boom for ''jizake'' (local Sake). The 1980s, however, were characterised by the Ginjō boom and a greater popularity of ''namazake''. Besides of that Sake production also became more and more prominent in USA, Brazil, Taiwan, Korea and China.

== Sake History & Culture Long Read/Essay ==
Sake is the traditional rice wine of Japan. It comes in several varieties, and was first made at least 2,000 years ago. Since then, sake has played an important role in Japanese culture and history. From its origins as the "drink of the Gods" to its current status as one of the most popular drinks in the country, the history of sake is steeped in tradition, innovation, and custom.

Sake was first brewed in Japan after the practice of wet rice cultivation was introduced in that country around 1000 B.C. Though the origins of sake can be traced in China as far back as 4,000 B.C., it was the Japanese who began mass production of this simple but delicious rice concoction. The basic process of making sake involves "polishing" or milling the rice kernels, which were then cooked in good, clean water and made into a mash. The earliest "polishing" was done by a whole village: each person would chew rice and nuts and then spit the mixture into a communal tub – the sake produced was called "kuchikami no sake," which is Japanese for "chewing the mouth sake." The chewing process introduced the enzymes necessary for fermentation. Although it was part of a Shinto religious ceremony, this practice was discontinued when it was learned that Koji (a mould enzyme) and yeast could be added to the rice to start the fermentation process.

At first, sake was produced for private consumption by individual families or villages. While this practice continued, sake rice also became a large scale agricultural product. The largest production area was centred around Nada, near the present-day city of Kobe. Although more sake was being made, it was mostly consumed by the upper classes. Sake was used for many purposes in the Shinto religion, including as an offering to the Gods and to purify the temple. The bride and groom each consume sake in a Shinto wedding ceremony in a process known as Sansankudo. There were many other uses for sake in Shinto, most of which are still in practice today.
It was in the 1300s that mass production of sake allowed it to become Japan's most important drink. In the years that followed the production process was improved, and sake breweries popped up throughout the nation. All the early variations of sake were cloudy until a seventeenth century brewery worker thought to use ashes to settle the cloudy particles in the sake. The story has become somewhat of a legend, because the employee was apparently disgruntled, and was trying to destroy the batch; instead, his actions refined the sake and earned him a place in history. Japan's Industrial Revolution in the nineteenth century introduced automation and machinery into the brewing process, making this popular drink even more available.

In the twentieth century, a press replaced the traditional canvas bags for squeezing the liquid out of the rice mash, yeast, and koji mixture, although some sake is still brewed the old-fashioned way. Shortages of rice in World War Two also caused changes in the brewing process: glucose and pure alcohol were added to the rice mash in order to increase the production yield and brewing time. Although borne of necessity, this process has been continued to this day, but sake made with just water, koji, yeast, and rice is still available.

Though the brewing process and availability of sake has changed over the years, sake's important role in Japanese culture has not. From its earliest beginning’s sake has been a drink of reverence, family, and friendship, consumed to mark important occasions. Because it is meant to be enjoyed with friends and family, tradition holds that a person must never pour their own sake; instead another person pours for you, and you do the same for them. For thousands of years sake has been a major part of Japanese life, and its popularity is now increasing on the international stage.