Beverage
Ginjo
S tier
Ginjo is sake from rice polished to at least 60 percent remaining, fermented cooler so esters of apple, pear, and flower show. It may be junmai ginjo (rice only) or ginjo with a little added alcohol to lift aroma. The glass is lighter and more fragrant than a sturdy junmai. Warming it is usually a waste. Drink it chilled with sashimi, steamed fish, or nothing at all. Do not reduce a ginjo in a stew. If the bottle is cheap and smells only of alcohol, it is ginjo in name. Store it cold; the perfume dies on a warm shelf.
Track this ingredient
Characteristics
Preparations
Traits
History
Ginjo techniques—high polish and cold fermentation—were refined in competition brewing.
Commercial ginjo reached restaurants as a premium aromatic grade.
Exports taught Western drinkers that sake could smell of fruit rather than only of warm rice.
Ginjo remained the by-the-glass premium while junmai held the kitchen.