【Most famous sake brand】
【Used multiple times at Japanese state banquets】
【The first sake brand to establish a brewery in the United States】
【Partnering with the globally renowned three-Michelin-starred restaurant Robuchon to open a Japanese-French pastry shop in Paris】
【Representative of sweet aroma】
ZTJ099 - Dassai 45 Junmai Daiginjo 1800ml
Special price：$335/bottle
Origin: Japan / Yamaguchi Prefecture
Raw rice: 100% Yamada Nishiki
Rice polishing ratio: 45%
Alcohol content: 15%
Capacity: 1800ml（1.8L）
Brewing date: Aug 2025
Dassai 45 4/5 Junmai Daiginjo is Dassai's entry-level sake, yet it retains Dassai's high quality! Brewed with Yamada Nishiki rice polished to a 45% rice polishing ratio, it boasts a fragrant, fresh, and juicy fruity aroma, with a slight hint of whole rice umami in the mid-palate. Besides its smooth texture, it has a slightly sweet finish, making it a well-balanced Junmai Daiginjo.
The name Dassai originates from Dassai, the sake's production area, where many otters live. Otters have a habit of laying their catch on the riverbank, as if offering it to the gods; this behavior is called "otter sacrifice." Additionally, the haiku poet Masaoka Shiki, whom Sakurai Hiroshi admired, was known as the "Master of Dassai House." Dassai was born in 1990, pioneering innovation in Japanese sake.
The fresh and mellow floral and fruity aromas showcase Dassai's generous and unique charm. It is an elegant Junmai Daiginjo with a slightly sweet taste. Dassai sake's name uses numbers to represent the rice polishing ratio; "San-gokubu" means that only 39% of the finest part of each grain of rice is used for brewing, resulting in a smooth, sweet, and fruity flavor. It's very popular in sake bars in trendy cities like Tokyo and New York! In 2020, Sotheby's auctioned Japanese sake for the first time, featuring six bottles of premium Dassai, with the highest price achieved at over 840,000 yen per bottle. Dassai has been selected by Shinzo Abe as the sake for state banquets and enjoys international renown.
Dassai is a brand launched by Asahi Shuzo Co., Ltd., located in Yamaguchi Prefecture. Prior to this, Asahi Shuzo had a 200-year history of brewing ordinary sake. However, facing a sluggish market and poor sales, the third-generation president, Hiroshi Sakurai, turned to developing Junmai Daiginjo, the most complex type of sake in Japan. In addition to using only Yamada Nishiki rice, known as the "King of Sake Rice," as raw material, he spent six years constantly trying and making mistakes before finally launching the Dassai brand in 1990. Subsequently, in 1992, he launched the industry-shaking Dassai Junmai Daiginjo Niwarisan (using only 23% of the essence from each grain of rice for brewing). In 2016, Dassai's annual sales exceeded 10 billion yen, making it one of the top eight sake manufacturers in Japan.
What sets Asahi Shuzo, the company behind the powerful Dassai brand, apart from other sake breweries is the absence of a Toji (the head brewer and the ultimate strategist responsible for the flavor of the sake). Instead, they completely digitize all their experience. From the water absorption of the rice and the daily fermentation process to the temperature and humidity of the brewery, everything is managed through data to achieve a state where sake can be brewed year-round, thereby increasing productivity by more than 2 times.
A professor studying Japanese sake stated that, compared to the agricultural brewing model where the quality of wine depends on weather and soil, Japanese sake brewing is an industrial process determined by the Toji (master craftsman) technique. However, Dassai's brewing method is highly scientific, making it the king of industrial brewing. A late, renowned French chef, during a visit to the Dassai brewery, remarked that Dassai's brewing method was as refined as that of a watchmaker.
Alex personally went to Asahi Sake Winery to experience the best example of Japanese sake
