Top 9 Best Sweet Japanese Sakes to Buy Online 2020 - Tried and True!

If you're not a newcomer to the world of sake, feel free to skip ahead to the ranking. For those of you that just happened to click on this or are curious to learn more about Japanese sake, we thought we'd give you a rundown of what exactly sweet sake is.

Sake is generally thought of in two types of flavor: dry and sweet. Sweet sakes have a higher sugar content. While sake has official classifications such as junmai-shu and junmai ginjo, there's no official "dry" or "sweet" rating. Sake makers came up with this classification themselves to help customers better envision what their wares would taste like.

Because of this, there are those who may find sweet sakes to taste dry or vice versa. Keep this in mind when reading our ranking; after all, your own taste buds are ultimately the deciding factor.

We picked out 9 of the most popular products and tested them for the following: how sweet it was, how strong its aroma was, and how strong its flavor was. Our impressions for category were then averaged into a final score of deliciousness. 

Then, based on how they performed on our tests, we graded and ranked the top 9 sweet Japanese sakes available online.

※Japanese prices for the products are given; they’ve merely been converted into USD for easy viewing.

Our sake specialists taste tested each of the sakes at room temperature. They scored each beverage based on its smell and taste, as well as how easily it went down the throat. 

Sake that struck a divine balance between sweet and sour received the highest scores. If a sake is just sweet, then it starts to taste like juice; adding some acidity gives the flavor depth and brings out the essence of the rice.

Here are three big things to look out for.

If you're new to the world of sake, you may be wondering what all of those numbers in the table meant. Well, that's the Sake Meter Level (SMV), and it indicates the sugar content in a sake. Anything in the positive numbers is considered dry, and anything in the negative numbers is sweet.

If you're looking for an average sweet sake, look for an SMV between -3.5 and -5.9. Anything below -6.0 is considered super sweet. However, if you get too low in the negative numbers, some people claim it starts to taste dry. Sample different SMVs for yourself and get a feel for what you like.

The words "junmai" and "ginjo" and "daiginjo" have been thrown around a lot in this ranking, but we haven't really explained them, have we? These are some of the 8 different classifications of Japanese sake. What separates them from one another is their main ingredients, method of production, and ratio of polished rice.

・Junmai-shu (純米酒), or sake made using only rice and koji (malted rice)
Junmai-shu (純米酒)
Tokubetsu junmai-shu (特別純米酒)
Junmai ginjo (純米吟醸)
Junmai daiginjo (純米大吟醸)

・Non-junmaishu types of sake
Honjozo-shu (本醸造酒)
Tokubetsu honjozo-shu (特別本醸造酒)
Ginjo-shu (吟醸酒)
Daiginjo-shu (大吟醸酒)

Junmai daiginjo is considered to be the top rank of Japanese sake; it's very expensive and tends to be served only on special occasions. If you're looking for most affordable sake, we suggest trying junmai-shu or honjozo-shu. 

Japan has a huge variety of rice, and each type has its own unique flavor that is brought out best with sake. Most sweet sakes are made with mild Miyama Nishiki (美山錦) or Yamada Nishiki (山田錦) rice. On the other end of the spectrum are varieties like Gohyakuman-goku (五百万石) rice, which has a bit of a bite to it.

By sampling different types of sake and reading the label on the bottle to see what kind of rice it's made with, you can start to get a feel of what each type of rice brings to the beverage. 

Japan loves alcohol just as much as the next person, and that includes us. Here are some other Japanese alcohols we've tried and tested so that you have a better idea of where to start looking.

We rounded up three Japanese sake experts, purchased the 9 most popular sweet Japanese sakes, and tested them all.

We learned that the best of the best sweet sakes have a lower Sake Meter Value, are of the Junmai Daiginjo variety, and balance sweet and sour flavors to create a balanced and refreshing flavor. We think the best way to find what kind of sweet sake you like is to sample a large variety, but we hope we've given you a good place to start.

Author: Sayako Suzuki/Translation: Shannon McNaught/Photos: Koichi Miura, Yuuki Inagaki, Hiroshi Takigawa