How to read a Japanese sake menu
On a Japanese sake menu each line starts with the brand (銘柄), followed by the grade such as 純米吟醸 (junmai ginjo), and usually a serving in gō (一合, 180 ml) and a price; 辛口 means dry and 甘口 means sweet.
What is on a typical menu line?
Menus are read from the left: the brand first, then the grade or style, then the serving and price. A line such as 朝凪 純米吟醸 一合 ¥880 / 二合 ¥1,600 means: brand Asanagi, junmai ginjo grade, 180 ml for ¥880 or 360 ml for ¥1,600. This is an invented example.
| Part | Example | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Brand (銘柄) | 朝凪 | The name of the sake. One brewery can make many brands. |
| Grade (特定名称) | 純米吟醸 | How the rice was polished and whether alcohol was added. |
| Extras | 山田錦, 精米歩合50% | The rice variety, and how much of each grain is left after polishing. |
| Place | 新潟 | The prefecture, sometimes the brewery. |
| Serving and price | 一合 ¥880 | The size and the price for that size. |
What do the grade words mean?
Eight grades have official names. The words you will see most are these:
| Word | Reading | In short |
|---|---|---|
| 純米 | junmai | Only rice, koji and water. A fuller, rounder taste. |
| 吟醸 | ginjo | Rice polished to 60 % or less, brewed cold, fragrant. Usually a little alcohol is added. |
| 大吟醸 | daiginjo | Polished to 50 % or less. The most refined and fragrant grade. |
| 本醸造 | honjozo | Polished to 70 % or less with a little added alcohol. Light and easy to drink, often good warm. |
| 特別 | tokubetsu | “Special”: a finer polish or a special method. Seen as 特別純米 or 特別本醸造. |
Put together, 純米大吟醸 (junmai daiginjo) is rice, koji and water only, polished to 50 % or less. The types of sake guide shows all eight. More about label words: how to read a sake label.
How do I tell sweet from dry?
辛口 (karakuchi) is dry and 甘口 (amakuchi) is sweet. Two more words describe body: 淡麗 (tanrei) is light and clean, and 濃醇 (nojun) is rich and full. Some menus print the 日本酒度 (sake meter value): a plus number leans dry and a minus number leans sweet. Many menus print no number at all, so the taste map in KIKI’s menu scan is a quick way to compare the drinks on one menu. Sweet or dry? Reading SMV and acidity explains the numbers.
Which style words should I know?
- 生酒 (namazake): not pasteurised, fresh and lively. It is kept cold.
- 原酒 (genshu): not diluted with water, so stronger and richer.
- にごり (nigori): cloudy, with a little rice left in.
- 古酒・熟成 (koshu): aged for years, with deeper, nutty flavours.
- 季節限定 (seasonal): for example ひやおろし in autumn and しぼりたて in winter. See sake through the seasons.
What do the serving words mean?
| Word | Reading | Size |
|---|---|---|
| 一合 | ichi-gō | 180 ml, the usual small carafe |
| 二合 | ni-gō | 360 ml |
| グラス | gurasu | A glass. The size differs by shop, so check the menu. |
| 飲み比べ | nomikurabe | A tasting set of three small pours |
| 四合瓶 / ボトル | yon-gō-bin / botoru | A 720 ml bottle |
How to order sake in an izakaya covers sizes, temperature and what to say.
How does KIKI’s menu scan help?
Photograph each page of the menu and KIKI matches every drink line to its catalogue. Each line then shows the bottle, its taste and its rating. When the menu prints only a brand and not the exact bottle, the scan says that it found the brand and does not guess. How the menu scan works.