What Is Sake?
Brewed in Japan for over a thousand years, sake is an alcoholic beverage made with four ingredients: rice, water, koji mold, and yeast. People like to compare it to wine, but the brewing process is closer to beer. Either way, sake stands on its own.
For generations, sake has been steeped in ceremony and ritual. That’s part of its appeal. But it’s not the whole story. Sake is an everyday drink, too. A glass after work, a bottle with dinner, another pour just because. It’s great with sushi and ideal for special occasions, but neither is required.
"The quality of sake cannot exceed the quality of its ingredients."
- Kubota Master Brewer
While all sake is made with the same basic ingredients, the quality of those ingredients is where the difference is made. Which rice. Which water. How carefully the koji rice is prepared. How long the fermentation runs. Every choice shows up in the glass.
Each brewing technique produces a different profile, so flavor profiles run from bone-dry and ultra-clean to soft, layered, and full. Every sake — like every sake drinker — is distinct.
Where It Began
Organized brewing took hold in Japan during the Nara period, around 710 AD. Sake was produced in the imperial court, offered at Shinto shrines, and gradually spread outward. Knowledge moved slowly, from master to apprentice, region to region.
Over centuries, distinct styles emerged. Each region left its mark. The soft water of Kyoto's Fushimi. The heavily polished styles of Hyogo's Nada. And then Niigata, where cold winters, pure snowmelt water, and premium rice created the conditions for something different. Something lighter, crisper, cleaner. What would eventually be known as tanrei karakuchi was born here, and it would go on to reshape sake across Japan.
In 1830, a small brewery called Kubotaya was founded in a rural Niigata village. It was the right place, at the right time, with the right water.
How Sake Is Made
It starts with rice and water. What happens next is everything.
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Rice Polishing
Brown rice is milled to white rice. How much gets removed determines the grade, which influences the flavor. The more that's polished away, the more delicate the profile. -
Wash & Soak
Polished rice is washed and soaked to an exact moisture level. Small shifts here shape the outcome. -
Steam
Rice is steamed for about 45 minutes, then cooled. Some goes toward koji cultivation. The rest becomes the body of the brew. -
Koji
Aspergillus oryzae — koji mold — is cultivated on steamed rice over 40 to 50 hours. Koji converts starch into fermentable sugar. Without it, fermentation doesn't happen. -
Yeast Starter
Water, koji, yeast, and a small amount of rice come together to build a concentrated yeast culture. The engine for everything that follows. -
Fermentation
Steamed rice, koji, and water are added to the yeast starter in stages, creating moromi — the sake mash. It ferments slowly, sometimes for weeks. Cold temperatures slow it down. That's the goal.
Rice matters.
Sake rice is not table rice. Brewers use specific varieties like Gohyakumangoku, cultivated in Niigata for generations. Its larger, well-defined starchy core, the shinpaku, makes it ideal for brewing.
At Kubota, much of our rice comes from the fields surrounding our brewery. We use water that runs underground through Niigata's mountains before reaching the brewery's wells. Local farmers working alongside our brewers for generations. That’s one tradition we’re proud to keep.
Grades, Types, and Styles
Two things determine what's in a sake: how much of the rice was polished away before brewing, and how it was made after that. Both show up on the label. Here's what they mean.
The Grades
Polish percentage drives the grade. More polishing produces a lighter, more aromatic sake. Less polishing means fuller body and deeper flavor.
Honjozo — ≥30% Removed
Lightly polished and clean. Crisper and more delicate than fuller-bodied sakes, with a refreshing finish.
Ginjo — ≥40% Removed
Clean, bright, and fragrant. The polish does most of the work and reveals the rice’s natural flavors.
Daiginjo — ≥50% Removed
More than half the grain is gone before brewing begins. What's left is rice at its most refined.
The Types
These designations can go with any grade and tell you something specific about how the sake was made.
Junmai — No distilled alcohol added
Pure rice, nothing else. Fuller body, savory depth, satisfying weight. Drinks well at almost any temperature. When you don’t see Junmai on the label, a small amount of brewer’s alcohol — distilled from sugar cane — was added during brewing to give the sake a crisper, lighter finish.
Genshu — Undiluted sake
This is sake in its most concentrated form. When you sip genshu, you get higher alcohol and more intensity. It’s best served cold or on the rocks.
Nama — Unpasteurized
Most sake is pasteurized before bottling. Nama skips that step. The result is fresher and livelier, with more immediate character. Keep it cold.
The Styles
When we talk about styles, we’re describing how the sake was processed. Like sake types, these can apply to any grade.
Nigori — Unfiltered
Most sake is finely filtered before bottling. Nigori goes through a much coarser filter, if it’s filtered at all. That purposeful difference produces a distinctive sake that’s cloudy, rich, and slightly sweet.
Sparkling — Secondary fermentation
Beginner-friendly with fine bubbles, muscat aroma, light sweetness, bright acidity, and a clean finish.
Now that the labels make a little more sense, take a closer look at all the Kubota collections.
How To Drink It
Serving Temp
Sake is delicious at almost any temperature. Cold, warm, room temperature — all of them right, depending on the style and what's in front of you. Few drinks offer that kind of range.
Chilled (5–10°C)
Ideal for Ginjo and Daiginjo. Aroma stays vivid. Finish stays clean.
Room Temp (~20°C)
Lets Junmai styles open up without heat masking anything.
Warm (40–55°C)
Warmth adds texture and amplifies umami. Great for earthier styles. Not so great for more delicate styles like ginjo or daiginjo.
On the Rocks
One large cube. Flavor shifts as the ice dilutes, making the first sip different from the last. Excellent for higher ABV types like Genshu.
In a Cocktail
Tonic, fruit, herbs, or just a squeeze of lime or lemon. Sake's clean profile makes an excellent base.
Pairing
Food-friendly and more versatile than many people think, sake belongs with whatever you're eating — not just sushi. Its umami essence and clean finish work equally well with bold flavors and delicate ones. Pasta. Cheese. Grilled meats. No matter what you like, there’s a sake that goes with it.
Drinkware
If you want to enjoy the aroma to its fullest, sip from a wine glass. If you’re focused on flavor, any glass will work. What you drink it from matters less than the fact that you're drinking it.
Why It Matters Where It's From
Sake carries its place of origin in the glass. The water, the rice, and the air all play a role in what you pour.
Not every region produces great sake. Niigata does.
Long winters with heavy snow. Underground water filtered slowly through mountain rock. Some of Japan's finest rice, grown in the fields that surround the brewery. These all combine to produce sake that is light, dry, and precise.
We have been brewing with the finest ingredients in ideal conditions since 1830. For nearly two centuries, we’ve focused on one thing: making sake that’s traditionally unconventional. We brew it our way, so you can pour it yours.
