Most Expensive Sake

(via True Sake)

Sake, a word used to refer to any alcoholic beverage in Japan, has come to mean a specific drink in America. While we often call that drink a “rice wine,” the rice fermentation process is closer to the making of beer than wine. Despite that fact, the resulting brew is non-carbonated and tastes similar to wine.

There are three main types of premium sake—junmai, ginjo and dai ginjo—that have the undesirable portions of the rice polished away. To make dai ginjo, generally the most expensive sake, the brewer polishes each grain of rice down to half its original size.

The type of rice used to make the sake also matters. While most sake-grade rice is crossbred, Kame no O is a pure breed of rice discovered in Amarune, Yamagata Prefecture around 100 years ago. The rice is so distinctive, in fact, that it inspired a 2001 summit in Amarune. It even has its own theme song.

The most expensive sake offered by True Sake, which claims to be America’s first dedicated sake store, is a Kame no O sake by Wataribune. It is, of course, a dai ginjo sake and, at $500 for a 720ml bottle, it may just be the world’s most expensive sake.

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