Genshu — tasting notes & food pairings

Genshu

Genshu — literally "original sake" — is undiluted, full-strength Japanese sake bottled at the natural alcohol level fermentation reaches, with no water added to soften it. Where almost all sake is cut with brewing water down to about 15 to 16 percent alcohol before bottling, genshu is left as it comes off the tank, so it lands at roughly 18 to 20 percent — noticeably stronger, denser and more concentrated. The result is a big, mouth-filling sake: bold and sweet-edged, with heightened rice-and-grain intensity, a fuller body, a warming alcoholic lift and a long, powerful finish. Pale straw to golden and usually served well chilled or over ice to tame its heat, it is not a grade of its own but a process label that can be applied to any style — a junmai, honjozo, ginjo or daiginjo can all be sold as genshu — and it is a single word on the bottle that tells you the sake has been left at full, undiluted strength.

Balanced19% ABV

Pale straw to golden and mouth-fillingly rich, genshu is undiluted, full-strength sake bottled at the roughly 18 to 20 percent alcohol fermentation reaches — no water added to soften it. It leads with concentrated steamed rice and cooked-grain sweetness, cream and a faint lactic tang, steamed chestnut and a whisper of koji, all pitched fuller and denser than diluted sake, with a firm acidity, heightened umami and a distinct warming alcoholic weight through a long finish. Because it is a process rather than a grade, any style can be bottled as genshu — junmai, honjozo, ginjo or daiginjo. Best served well chilled or over ice, which tames the heat and lets the drinker soften it to taste, it is a bold partner for richer, fattier food.

Genshu

Balanced19% ABV