Japan’s most celebrated alcoholic drink, sake is brewed from fermented rice. Brown rice is polished to remove its husk, producing the smaller white rice grains used to make sake. Sake is categorized according to the degree to which the rice is polished and alcohol content: junmaishu (pure rice sake), honjozo (sake with added brewer’s alcohol), ginjoshu (the highest grade of sake) and futsushu (common grades ofsake). Sake is clear with a slightly sweet taste and an alcohol content of 14 to 16%. It can be served hot or chilled.