Dassai (獺祭) is a sake brand made by DASSAI Inc. (株式会社獺祭) in Iwakuni (岩国), Yamaguchi Prefecture (山口県). In June 2025, the company changed its name from Asahi Shuzo Co., Ltd. (旭酒造株式会社).
The brewery’s history and brewery tours are introduced in the article on the Dassai brewery. This article sums up what is useful to know when choosing Dassai in a store: the meaning of the name, the differences between the products, and how to drink and store it.
The name “Dassai”
“獺 (datsu)” is a kanji that means “otter”. “Dassai (獺祭)” is a word that likens an otter lining up the fish it has caught on the riverbank to a festival. From this, it came to mean spreading out many reference materials when writing poems or other texts.
The place where the brewery stands is called “Osogoe (獺越)”. The brewery took the one character “獺” from this place name and named its brand “Dassai”. The word is also known because Masaoka Shiki (正岡子規), a haiku poet of the Meiji era, called himself “獺祭書屋主人” as a pen name.
The two characters “獺祭” are written large on the label. In a store, look for these two characters.
Dassai is a brand made only of junmai daiginjo
The Dassai brewery makes only one type of sake: junmai daiginjo. Junmai daiginjo is sake made only from rice, rice koji and water, with more than half of the outside of the rice polished away.
The rice for the main products is the sake rice (rice suited to sake making) Yamada Nishiki (山田錦). Because every product is the same type of sake, the differences between the products are shown mainly by how far the rice was polished. That proportion is the “rice polishing ratio (seimai buai)”, which shows the proportion of the rice that remains after polishing.
The differences between the three main bottles
The three you will see most often in stores are the following. The number in the product name shows the rice polishing ratio.
| Product name | Rice polishing ratio | How the rice is polished | Price for 720 ml (tax included) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dassai 45 (獺祭 純米大吟醸45) | 45% | A little more than half of the outside polished away | 2,475 yen |
| Dassai 39 (獺祭 純米大吟醸 磨き三割九分) | 39% | A little more than 60% of the outside polished away | 3,080 yen |
| Dassai 23 (獺祭 純米大吟醸 磨き二割三分) | 23% | More than three quarters of the outside polished away | 6,380 yen |
Prices are the brewery’s list prices as of September 30, 2026. They vary from store to store.
“磨き (migaki)” is the Japanese for polishing the rice, “二割三分 (niwari sanbu)” means 23%, and “三割九分 (sanwari kyubu)” means 39%. You can tell the bottles apart by whether “45”, “三割九分” or “二割三分” is written on the label.
All three come in 1.8 L, 720 ml, 300 ml and 180 ml bottles. The smallest, 180 ml bottle is a convenient size for comparing several while traveling.
Other products
Besides the three, there are products such as the following (prices for 720 ml, as of September 30, 2026).
- Dassai Hayata (獺祭 早田 純米大吟醸 磨き二割三分) (14,300 yen): Made with a method that keeps the pasteurization after bottling short
- Dassai 23 Centrifuge (獺祭 純米大吟醸 磨き二割三分 遠心分離) (16,830 yen): The moromi (fermenting mash) is pressed with a centrifuge, without applying pressure
- Dassai Beyond (獺祭 磨き その先へ) (46,200 yen): Dassai’s top product, made as something that goes beyond “Migaki Niwari Sanbu”
- Dassai 45 nigori sparkling (獺祭 純米大吟醸45 にごりスパークリング): A sparkling sake that is fermented again in the bottle to create its bubbles. It must be kept refrigerated
Also, since 2023, “DASSAI BLUE” has been made in New York State, USA. In Japan, it is sold under the name “獺祭 BLUE from NY”.
How to drink and store it
The temperature the brewery recommends is 10–12°C: about the temperature of a bottle taken out of the refrigerator and left for a short while. A small wine glass suits enjoying the aroma, and a sakazuki (盃) with a wide mouth suits pairing with strongly flavored snacks. Types of sake vessels are introduced in Sake Vessels.
Please store Dassai in the refrigerator. The brewery recommends drinking it within the following periods.
| After purchase | After opening | |
|---|---|---|
| Regular Dassai | Within 1 month | Within 1 week |
| Sparkling | Within 2 weeks | On the day you open it |
Dassai is pasteurized after being bottled at a very low temperature. For this reason, the pressure inside a bottle that is not cold rises, and in rare cases the stopper can pop off. Please chill the bottle well before opening it.
Drinking and buying on your trip
Dassai is widely available in Japan, and you can find it at izakaya (Japanese pubs), sushi restaurants, department stores and airport shops. The brewery-owned stores and the main stockists at stations and airports are listed in “Where to buy Dassai’s sake” in the article on the Dassai brewery. At the “Dassai Tenjin Store (獺祭天神ストア)” in Fukuoka City, you can taste for free (closed on Wednesdays).
If you are taking sake home abroad: Bottles over 100 ml cannot go in your carry-on bag before security screening. Put them in your checked baggage, or buy them at a duty-free shop after security screening. Please check in advance what applies if you have a connecting flight, and the import limits of the country you are arriving in. The sparkling sake, which must be kept refrigerated, is not suited to long journeys. → Travel tips