Futsūshu

Futsūshu is not subject to any special regulations. It is often made from "edible rice" instead of sake rice. Futsūshu contains a lot of added distilled alcohol. Some varieties also contain sugar, colorings and other additives.

In Japan, during and after the war, large amounts of brewed alcohol were added to sake to make as much sake as possible with as little rice as possible.

At that time, Junmai sake was mixed with double the amount of low-grade alcohol and the taste was adjusted with sugar, acidifiers and chemical seasonings. This was called "Sanzōshu" (三増酒, German: verdreifachter Sake). The sake made in this way was of course of very low quality, but it was accepted at a time when rice was very scarce.

However, even during the period of rapid economic growth, when there were no longer difficulties in obtaining rice, some sake breweries continued to produce this type of sake with an emphasis on profit.

Nowadays, due to changes in the law, it is not even possible to produce "tripled" sake. But because brewing alcohol is added to Futsūshu, many Japanese still categorically consider Futsūshu bad.

Of course, you also can't expect Futsūshu to taste as high quality as premium sake with wonderful aromas and complex flavor profile.

However, there are many sake breweries that strive to offer consumers good sake at an affordable price. Some breweries even dare to sell high quality sake that meets the Ginjō criteria as Futsūshu. Unfortunately, the selection of Futsūshu outside Japan is not large, so the chances of finding such treasures may be slim.

In any case, Futsūshu is something like table wine for Europeans. It still accounts for about 60 % of the Japanese sake market at present (as of about 2020, with a declining trend over the years). When you drink Futsūshu, you don't have to worry too much about the temperature range or what foods you can pair it with.

Some Japanese prefer to drink Futsūshu for everyday use and premium sake for special occasions.