Where the data comes from
Flavor profiles, flavor words and rankings come from the Sakenowa (さけのわ) open data project. Sakenowa is a Japanese app where drinkers check in the sake they drink and describe it. Their notes are combined into six flavor scores per brand — floral, rich, heavy, mild, dry and light — plus the words drinkers use most. Rankings are Sakenowa's monthly ratings.
Today the dataset covers 1,745 breweries and 3,304 brands, 1,371 of them with a flavor profile. Last updated October 21, 2026; the ranking is for September 2026.
Prefecture colors are traditional Japanese colors (和色) from the 和色大辞典 reference. We chose one per prefecture with a local story, and checked that neighbors on the map stay easy to tell apart.
The map uses Natural Earth boundaries (public domain).
Which brands get a page
A brand gets its own page when it has a Sakenowa flavor profile and is sold in the US by our retail partner. That keeps every recommendation actionable. Rankings and prefecture pages still list every brand, including ones not yet sold in the US.
How we make money
Some “where to buy” links go to Tippsy, a US sake retailer, and Sake 47 may earn a commission if you buy. Commissions never change flavor data, rankings or which brands we recommend — those come straight from the data above.
Drink responsibly
Sake 47 is for adults of legal drinking age (21+ in the US).