Sweet or Dry?
One thing you might want to know when picking a bottle of sake is ‘will this be sweet or dry-tasting?’ The different grades of premium sake (like Junmai or Ginjo) tell you what to expect in terms of aroma and umami, but brewers are free to decide for themselves how much sweetness they want their sake to have. So how can you tell?
But first, it’s important to note that even ‘sweet’ sake, with the exception of some specialty styles (e.g. kijoushu), is usually not dessert wine-sweet. Most sake has just a little hint of sweetness, what we would call ‘off-dry’ in the wine world, and the sweeter or dryer examples lean to either side from there.
The aroma of the sake, the alcohol level and the acidity also influence our perception of sweetness. A very aromatic ginjo sake will taste sweeter, because we associate its aroma with sweet, ripe and juicy fruits.
A Tale of Two Kanjis
We try to keep the Japanese terms to a minimum on this site. If you don’t understand the language, they are difficult to remember and don’t give you any extra information about the topic at hand. But a few words and characters can be very useful to know. Two of these are the characters (kanji) for sweet and spicy.
甘酒 ‘amazake’ literally means sweet sake, but is a low- or non-alcohol drink. It’s also based on rice, but very different from what we normally call sake.
甘 — Sweet 辛 — Spicy/dry
甘 Sake that is on the sweeter side of the spectrum is not always explicitly marketed as such, but look for this character on the back label.
辛 Sake that is very dry usually advertises the fact and will often feature this character on the label.
If you’re really lucky, the back label might even have a chart like the one below that tells you how sweet/dry the sake will be. The scale ranges from sweet on the left to dry on the right. The example here would be medium-dry.
Do the Math
Have a look at the back label and try to find a number with a + or – in front of it, the ‘Sake Meter Value’ (SMV) or Nihonshu-do [日本酒度]. This value can be used as an indicator of sweetness: the higher the number the dryer the sake will be (-6 would be sweet, +6 quite dry). The average is somewhere around +3.
The sake meter value is based on the specific gravity (or relative density) of the sake, which is influenced by sugar and alcohol content. It is measured with a hydrometer that is inserted into a sample of the sake. The higher the sugar content, the higher the specific gravity: the metering device floats higher and the SMV is lower (right image).
As the perception of sweetness depends on many factors, like the acidity, presence of fruity aromas and personal taste, SMV might not always accurately reflect your own impression, but especially the more extreme values can be a good guide.
A Question of Style
Regionality in sake is a tricky topic. In principle, a brewer can make their sake as sweet or as dry as they like, but there are some styles that are more popular in certain areas of the country than others.
Roughly speaking, the sake gets sweeter, the further south you go. Niigata is especially known for a style of sake that is dry, with a clean and short finish. Iwate Prefecture also has many brands that make robust, dry sakes. Breweries in Kagoshima and Saga Prefecture in the south of Japan often make sweeter sake. Hiroshima, too, is known for a somewhat sweet and fruity style.
Sparkling sake can be quite sweet, although more serious styles are coming to the market now, that are inspired by champagne and have an elegant and mostly dry taste.
Then, there are the specialty styles. Kijoushu is a luxurious kind of sake with a deep gold colour that is often very sweet. At the end of the brewing process, sake is added to the fermentation tank instead of water, which then causes the fermentation to stop before all the sugar has been converted to alcohol. Aged sake (koshu [古酒]) can also be sweet, but the sweetness becomes less pronounced with time. A sake that has been aged for three years is more likely to be sweet-tasting than a 10-year old.
Follow the Demon 👹
Super-dry sake is also called ‘demon-killer’ (oni-koroshi [鬼殺し] in Japanese), because it’s sooo strong, it will even make a demon drunk! So if the label features a ghastly demon face, that could be a hint that the sake will be very dry and probably also have a very robust flavour and relatively high alcohol.
