Dassai Happou Nigori Sparkling 50 (720 ml)

When Hiroshi Sakurai launched the Dassai brand in 1990, he made a commitment almost without precedent in Japanese sake: every single expression in the range would be Junmai Daiginjo — no blended grades, no added alcohol, no compromise tier. The Happou Nigori Sparkling 50 sits within that same uncompromising framework, adding a deliberate rule-break: the sake is left unfiltered (nigori), retaining suspended rice solids that most Daiginjo producers would remove to achieve the category's expected clarity.

The brewery occupies a mountain valley in Shuto-cho, Iwakuni City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, where the regional water — classified Seiryu (clear-stream soft water) — is purified further on-site. Soft water produces a lighter, more delicate fermentation character, amplifying the floral and stone-fruit aromatics that 100% Yamada Nishiki rice, polished to 50% seimaibuai (half the grain milled away), naturally yields.

Fermentation proceeds in small individual tanks with handmade koji applied manually — a non-negotiable human step at Dassai — under carefully controlled moromi temperatures. Dassai pioneered the commercial use of a centrifuge press (c. 2000) to separate sake from mash without pressure, preserving aromatic integrity that conventional pressing would compromise. The sparkling character is achieved through secondary fermentation in bottle, leaving the characteristic cloudy lees unsettled.

The special feature here is the category transgression itself: a fully committed Junmai Daiginjo house producing a nigori sparkling expression — combining the highest rice-polish grade with the least-filtered, most texturally expressive format in the sake world. Intended for near-term consumption; no vintage dating applies.