Nama (unpasteurized)
Sake that skipped pasteurization: fresh, lively and best kept cold.
- Typical US price, 720 ml
- $42 median
- Bottles at Tippsy
- 116
- Brands using it
- 45
Most sake is pasteurized twice: once before storage and once at bottling. Nama-zake (生酒) skips both, so it keeps a fresh, sometimes slightly fizzy, green-fruit character. Two cousins skip only one round: nama-zume (生詰) is pasteurized before storage but not at bottling — classic autumn hiyaoroshi is made this way — and nama-chozo (生貯蔵) is stored raw and pasteurized once at bottling.
Storage: keep nama in the fridge and drink it within a few weeks of opening. Warm storage can turn it stale fast.
Nama (unpasteurized) 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 styles
Flavor profiles and rankings: Sakenowa (さけのわ) open data, built from drinkers' check-ins in Japan.