Beverage
Daiginjo
S tier
Daiginjo is the highest common polish grade: no more than 50 percent of the rice grain remains, fermented with extreme care for a refined, often extravagantly aromatic sake. Junmai daiginjo skips added alcohol; daiginjo may use a little to chase perfume. The texture can be silky; the flavour is precise rather than hearty. This is a glass, not a marinade. Serving it warm or tipping it into a teriyaki is a category error. Keep it refrigerated and drink it soon after opening. If you need sake for the pot, buy junmai.
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History
Daiginjo emerged as a competition and prestige grade above ginjo polish levels.
Premium kura built their export names on daiginjo and junmai daiginjo.
Western tasting lists treated daiginjo as sake's grand cru shorthand.
Some brewers pushed back toward flavourful junmai, but daiginjo kept the luxury slot.