酒のうまさを追求する、その先に世界が見える。

Feature | 2024.11.22

旭酒造会長 桜井 博志氏

うまければ人に選ばれ、うまくなければ人が離れる。
シンプル、だけど難しい道を獺祭は真摯に歩みつづけている。

The pursuit of taste in sake opens up new worlds.

Sake, if it’s truly good, earns loyalty; if it isn’t, people move on.
Dassai continues to walk this simple yet difficult path with sincerity.

Even those who don’t drink sake have likely heard of Dassai. Produced by Asahi Shuzo in Yamaguchi Prefecture, this sake was crafted not “to intoxicate or merely sell, but to be savored.” Today, its reach extends overseas. We spoke with Sakurai about Dassai’s journey and what lies ahead.
“Frankly, I dislike the term ‘nihonshu’ (Japanese sake),” Sakurai confides. “They don’t call wine ‘French wine’ in France, do they?It’s limiting, especially when we’re producing abroad.” From the start, Sakurai’s global perspective is clear. “Young people are moving away from sake, and the data confirms it. Yet the industry lacks a sense of urgency. Everyone’s trying to promote sake, but their approaches often miss the mark.”
Sakurai believes simplicity reigns: “People stray when the product isn’t excellent, and they stay when it is. Making exceptional sake is not easy—it requires constant refinement. We focus on taste and quality, and through this dedication, we’ve grown our reach.”
With no elaborate marketing strategy, Dassai’s journey speaks for itself: from 97 million yen in annual sales in 1984 to a projected 19.7 billion yen in 2024—an achievement Sakurai credits purely to quality.
Now, Dassai is expanding globally to capture even more palates. “To grow further, we must target international markets, particularly the U.S. With this vision, we established a brewery in New York and launched the Dassai Blue brand,” Sakurai explains.
Completed in 2023, the New York brewery garnered considerable attention even in Japan. “Expanding to the U.S. has been a long-held goal of ours. However, the American market tends to favor affordable options over premium quality. Despite initial challenges, we believe our quality will eventually be recognized, and we’re committed to crafting sake in New York.”
Also chairman of the Japan Century Symphony Orchestra, Sakurai sees parallels between the classical music world and the sake industry. “Classical music is often seen as untouchable culture, making it less accessible to younger audiences—much like sake.” He envisions sake freed from its traditional confines. “Alcohol consumption is declining, and people now seek flavor, experience, and nuance in what they drink.
Without that, we won’t survive. Dassai aims to surpass wine and champagne, striving for a future where sake is loved worldwide and reaches 100 billion yen in annual sales.” Dassai is aiming to transcend the traditional bounds of Japanese sake.

獺祭の酒蔵


人がうまいと思うものは、こだわりをもって、人がつくる。

ビルの一室には「分析室」がありセンサーによる情報収集とデータ分析を駆使し、徹底した品質管理を行っています。

Products that people love are crafted with passion by people. At Dassai’s breweries, there are no traditional master brewers and cellar workers.

Dedication to the craft draws people in, making Dassai a beloved choice—no need for advertisements when flavor speaks for itself.
Nestled in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi, Dassai’s brewery places people at its core. Here, a team united by their shared passion for creating outstanding sake pursues excellence, not through traditional master brewers but through the skills of dedicated employees. At Dassai, the production of Junmai Daiginjo sake—a process that might take over a decade to master elsewhere—is accomplished by these young artisans within a year, allowing them to gain unparalleled expertise.
The sake-making process involves meticulous steps like rice washing, steaming, koji preparation, fermentation, pressing, and bottling, each infused with exacting care.
For instance, the rice is washed by hand to restore the precise moisture level within 0.3% accuracy—a task too delicate even for the latest machinery. Traditional Japanese steaming techniques ensure a firm exterior with a soft core, while the koji-making process is supervised around the clock by a team of four, entirely by hand.
Temperature control within 0.1% accuracy and proprietary methods that capture the true flavor in every bottle are among the painstaking measures that define Dassai’s distinctive production.
Although Dassai uses machines, most steps rely on skilled hands, essential for meeting the brand’s rigorous standards. This is because the sensitivity, skills and know-how of people who are well-versed in sake brewing are necessary to achieve the precision and quality that Dassai demands.
Only human intuition and expertise can create products that truly resonate with people. In today’s world, such commitment may seem rare, but at Dassai’s brewery, it’s simply how things are done.


世界の酒となるために、ニューヨークへ進出

DassaiBlue。

ニューヨークにはニューヨークの最高の獺祭がある。

Introducing Dassai Blue—the finest Dassai, crafted in New York for New York and the wide world.

To stand alongside wine and champagne on the global stage, Dassai has established a brewery and tasting room in Hyde Park, New York.
This location produces Dassai’s American brand, Dassai Blue, a premium sake crafted from 100% Yamada Nishiki rice, revered as the gold standard for sake.
Currently sourced from Japan, the rice will soon include American-grown Yamada Nishiki. In line with Dassai’s commitment to sustainability, efforts are also underway to reduce carbon emissions and create an eco-friendly supply chain.
The Dassai Blue brewery spans 55,000 square feet, with an annual production capacity of up to 140,000 cases. It brings together experienced artisans from Japan and local New York staff to handcraft sake with the utmost care.
As the website for Dassai Blue states, “Our goal is not to simply replicate a Japanese brewery in New York to cut logistics costs. Instead, with the same commitment to 100% Yamada Nishiki and Junmai Daiginjo, we aim to craft the finest sake using the waters of the Hudson Valley, inspired by the unique environment of New York.” This vision embodies Dassai’s unwavering dedication to excellence.
When the New York brewery was announced in 2023, Chairman Sakurai reflected, “Our expansion into sake-making in the U.S. fulfills a dream I had when Dassai was introduced 30 years ago—an important step toward sharing Dassai with the world.” With each new step, Dassai moves ever closer to its goal of becoming a truly global sake.

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世界の日本酒へ。

yoff

VOL.11

世界の日本酒へ。

日本酒が世界へ進出しているという話。

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