About This Product :
Translation of the name:
獺祭 Dassai = Otter FestivaL
There are several stories surrounding the lore of this name, but our favorite is related to the way that otters hunt for their food. They don’t catch a fish and eat it right away. An otter will catch many fish and lay them out on the riverbank in a fan to examine them altogether, and then eat the best one first. Laying the fish out makes the otter look like he’s selling something- so they call this an otter festival. Asahi Shuzo chose the name Dassai because this is how they make sake. They lay out all the options, and they choose the best one every time.
But why is it called Dassai BLUE? Fun Fact! Dassai BLUE, the American brewery’s name, uses Blue because of a Japanese Kotowaza (proverb): 青は藍より出でて藍より青し、loosely translated is, “The blue made from Indigo is more blue than Indigo.” If you are a dyer, you have some knowledge of indigo- it is a green plant and a green dye, but after the dyed fabric is exposed to oxygen, it becomes dark blue. In the simplest transliteration it would be, “The student surpasses the master.” They hope that the American Dassai Sake Brewery to surpass the Japanese one.
The Rice:
Using “The King of Rice,” 100% Yamadanishiki, Dassai 50 Nigori is milled down to 45%, and only contains water, rice, yeast, and koji, qualifying it as a Junmai Daiginjo grade.
The Sake:
Unlike many nigori on the market, this cloudy sake has a delicacy to it which is surprisingly refined. Whisps of white rice fall through the glass, adding a slight texture and body to the sake, without adding sweetness. For dry sake drinkers, this might be the best nigori you’ve ever had.
Prefecture : Yamaguchi, Japan
Rice: 100% Yamadanishiki
Nihonshu-Do (SMV) : undisclosed
Seimaibuai : 50%
Acidity: undisclosed
Amino Acids: undisclosed
ABV: 16%
The Brewery:
DASSAI BLUE! Truly delicious sake has the power to make people happy, transcending borders, cultures, and languages. We believe this.
That is why we continue to pursue sake that we believe is delicious. We have developed a style of sake brewing that specializes in one genre, using only Yamada-Nishiki sake rice and producing only Junmai-Daiginjo.
We believe that because sake is delicious, it must constantly evolve and change. It is not a matter of making sake with the same recipe and continuing to make the same taste.
Our goal is to always question our own DASSAI and make better sake.
Dassai Blue made in the USA does not aim to be the same sake as in Japan.
We will pursue the best that can be made in the U.S. environment, including water and climate, and we will also encounter the diverse food cultures that gather in the USA, and we will feed on the many conflicts we encounter to create Dassai Blue that tastes better than Japanese Dassai.
