Japanese sake. Let's go on an adventure across Japan to learn about the country's official drink.
How do you make this stuff" How should it taste" Is polish size important" Is it like wine or like beer" How do you drink it"
John Daub got a chance to tour Dassai Brewery with the company's CEO, the world's hottest sake brand to get those answers.

Dassai only makes Junmai Daiginjo sake, the highest quality, and if you want to understand sake, start with the best.
The company's story is significant. In the 1980's sake (nihonshu) consumption was going down because of competition from more beer, wine, and shochu. CEO Sakurai-san changed the company strategy, started making only Junmai Daiginjo and incorporated technology like centrifuges to make the smoothest drinking experience with sake.
The result:
2005: 120,000 bottles sold
2013: 1,140,000 bottles sold
Nearly a 1000% increase

As the domestic market continues to struggle, internationally, no brand is more popular than Dassai. You see Hollywood stars and celebrities in New York, Paris and London sipping it these days.

So -- what makes a good sake and what makes a great one"
1 Yamada Nishiki rice. The best place to grow this is Hyogo prefecture.
2 Polish rate: anything under 50% makes a sake Junmai Daiginjo category. The lower the polish ration, the less impurities, the smoother the taste.
3 The Koji. Dassai uses a very complex one called Tsukihaze koji-kin that penetrates into the r...