Tokubetsu Junmai
“Special” junmai: pure rice sake polished to 60% or less, or made with a special method the brewer must explain on the label.
- Rice left after polishing
- 60% or less, or a special method
- Added alcohol
- No
- Typical US price, 720 ml
- $36 median
- Bottles at Tippsy
- 26
Tokubetsu junmai (特別純米) means the brewer did something beyond standard junmai. Usually that's polishing to 60% — the same as a junmai ginjo — but brewing it in the fuller, less perfumed junmai style. It can also mean a special rice or method, which the label has to state.
That makes tokubetsu junmai a favorite for food: rounder and more savory than a ginjo, cleaner than a basic junmai.
How to drink it: chilled, at room temperature or gently warm (40–45°C). Good with grilled fish, pork, mushrooms and cheese.
Tokubetsu Junmai bottles you can buy in the US.
In stock at Tippsy, best-rated brands first.
Prices and bottle counts come from Tippsy's catalog on October 28, 2026. Sake 47 may earn a commission when you buy through these links. It never affects flavor data or rankings.
Other grades
Flavor profiles and rankings: Sakenowa (さけのわ) open data, built from drinkers' check-ins in Japan.