I am not a sake guy, but a wine lover and a Bourbon drinker. I'm curious, however, and so I was happy to step outside my comfort zone to read and review this book. This was partly because I had read earlier works by Anthony Rose, all of which had been well researched and written, and a pleasure to read.

The Story of Dassai has two main parts. The first explains how Sake is made: the types of rice, the styles of fermentation, the styles of finishing, in short, a soup to nuts overview of Sake production. The second part of the book traces the story of Dassai, from its humble beginnings to its current success and culture of innovation. The book is beautifully produced, featuring excellent photography, and even a ribbon bookmark, a welcome touch.

Anthony Rose is upfront in acknowledging that this book is a collaboration with Dassai, Inc., the Japanese producer of premium sake, but he maintains that he retained creative control. Books that rely on deep access to a producer can be tricky: are they marketing wrapped in a handsome cover, or are they legitimate works of journalism? The reader should be the judge. Rose presents the history and technical details of both sake production and Dassai in a way that clearly required inside access, but the book does not read as promotional.

Before going further, let me review a few sake terms. Although sake is closer to wine than spirits in terms of alcohol content and potential food pairing, it is brewed. A sake brewery is called a sakagura, or simply kura. Sake is made from rice, and the most prized variety is Yamada Nishiki, often referred to as the “king” of sake rice. It is a relatively recent variety, developed in 1923 by crossbreeding Tankan Wataribune and Tamadaho.

The rice is polished to remove the outer layers, leaving only the starchy core known as shinpaku. The more the outer layers are polished away, the more expensive the process, and typically, the more costly the sake itself. This polishing ratio is called seimai-buai; the lower the number, the greater the degree of polishing. The polished rice is steamed and fermented using koji-kin, a mold that converts starch into sugar. Rice inoculated with koji mold is called koji. Unlike grapes, which typically undergo a single fermentation process, sake is produced through multiple parallel fermentations (heikō fukuhakkō), in which starch conversion and alcoholic fermentation occur simultaneously. At the top of the quality hierarchy is Junmai Daijingo, where Junmai indicates that no distilled alcohol has been added, and daiginjo signifies a polishing ratio of 50% or better. Rose does an excellent job of explaining all of these terms, and carefully describing the specific ways Dassai produces its sake, contrasting these with more industrial approaches.

Turning to the history of the company, the author explains that Hiroshi Sakurai, born in 1950, took over his family's struggling brewery in 1984. Fortunately, he had income from his stone business; without it, the brewery's survival would have been uncertain. Sakurai worked long hours, laid off many employees, and assumed multiple roles himself to keep the business afloat. Commercial success did not arrive until the 1990s.

The name Dassai comes from the image of otters arranging their catch along a riverbank in a ritualistic manner resembling offerings to the gods. This act, known as dassai, fascinated Sakurai and inspired the name of his new brand.

Dassai 23 was conceived in 1992. This is a Junmai Daijingo with a 23% polishing ratio, far beyond the 50% required. While revolutionary, it also sparked a seimai-buai arms race, leading to ever more highly polished sake. Achieving a 23% polishing ratio is not a linear process but an exponential one, dramatically increasing time and cost. The story of this sake was compelling enough that it prompted me to purchase a bottle of Dassai 23. My brief and entirely non-professional tasting notes indicate floral aromas, apricot, white flowers, green and yellow melon, hints of dragon fruit, a pleasing mouthfeel, good texture, and a long, enjoyable finish. I found it to be excellent, and I am hardly alone. Dassai was served by the Obama administration when hosting former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the White House in 2015.

Dassai continues to push the boundaries of innovation. In 2019, the Yamada Nishiki Project sought to identify the best possible clone of Yamada Nishiki rice, a competition ultimately won by rice farmer Yoshinobu Sakauchi of Otawara in Tochigi Prefecture. The project was repeated in subsequent years, and eventually led to the release of Beyond the Beyond, whose inaugural bottling sold at auction in Hong Kong for USD $8,800. Continuing this innovative trajectory, Dassai opened Dassai Blue brewery in Hyde Park, New York, near the Culinary Institute of America, in 2023. The brewery has since sourced rice from Arkansas to produce Dassai Blue 35.

Anthony Rose makes a convincing case that the Dassai brewery and brand are worthy of serious attention, both in the glass and on the page. After reading the book, I found myself eager to explore more sake, and for good reason: well-crafted sake is a pleasure to drink. It pairs beautifully with a wide range of cuisines and deserves a place at your table. The Story of Dassai is an engaging and informative read, and will sit comfortably alongside wine books on any serious enthusiast's shelf.