Sake 101

The words on our shelf, in plain English. Every classification here is a code the brewery picked for its own bottle.

The sweetness scale

Sweet甘口: Rice sweetness up front. Round, generous, good with dessert. Browse
Off-dryやや甘口: A little sweetness held in check by acidity. The easy one to start with. Browse
Semi-dryやや辛口: A hint of sweetness, then a clean exit. Browse
Dry辛口: Little sugar, taut structure, crisp finish. Browse

Aromatic薫酒: Orchard fruit and white flowers — the ginjo signature. Browse
Rich芳醇: Deep rice savouriness. Full and mouth-filling. Browse
Aged熟成: Amber, dried fruit, nuts and honey from years of patience. Browse
Full-bodied濃醇: Dense umami with firm acidity. Excellent warm. Browse
Light & crisp淡麗: Clean, delicate, transparent. The one that gets out of the food's way. Browse

In stock在庫あり: Orderable as normal.
Almost gone残りわずか: The brewery is near the end of this run. Rarely, an order has to be cancelled.
Sold out完売: Gone for now. If the brewery gave a return date, it is on the bottle's page.
Out of season季節外: A seasonal release that is not shipping at the moment.

Nihonshu / seishu日本酒 / 清酒: What sake is called in Japan. English calls it rice wine, though it is brewed more like beer: starch becomes sugar and ferments in the same tank.
Junmai純米: Rice, water, yeast and koji. Nothing distilled added.
Ginjo / daiginjo吟醸 / 大吟醸: Rice milled down to 60% (ginjo) or 50% (daiginjo) and fermented slow and cold. Usually the aromatic, delicate end of the shelf.
Honjozo本醸造: A little distilled alcohol added to lift the aroma and lighten the body. Easy drinking.
Kimoto / yamahai生酛 / 山廃: Old-school starters that let wild lactic bacteria do the work. Broad savoury depth and firm acidity.
Muroka nama genshu無濾過生原酒: Unfiltered, unpasteurised, undiluted — sake as it leaves the press. Vivid and strong. Keep it cold.
Koshu古酒: Aged sake. Amber, nutty, honeyed, dried fruit. A different drink from the fresh stuff.
Kijoshu貴醸酒: Brewed with finished sake standing in for part of the water. Thick and sweet, like a dessert wine.
Kan燗: Sake served warm. The temperatures have names: hitohada-kan (body heat), nuru-kan (about 40 °C), atsu-kan (about 50 °C).
Koji麹: Rice grown with Aspergillus oryzae, whose enzymes turn starch into sugar. The engine of the whole thing.