A dry, full-bodied junmai built for the table. The big 1800ml bottle from Hakutsuru, one of Japan's great Nada breweries, equally at home warmed or chilled.

Junmai is written 純米, "pure rice", sake made only from rice, water, koji and yeast, with no distilled alcohol added. Hakutsuru was founded in 1743 in the Nada district of Kobe, Hyogo, the heartland of Japanese sake, and brews with the mineral-rich water that runs off the Rokko mountains. This is their signature junmai in the 1800ml isshobin, the traditional full-size bottle you find behind the counter in Japanese restaurants. It is a workhorse sake in the best sense: honest, full-flavoured and dry, made to be drunk with food rather than studied.

What does Hakutsuru Excellent Junmai taste like?

Rich and dry. The nose is earthy and grainy, with a clear note of toasted cereal and a touch of nuttiness. On the palate it is full-bodied, with the deep umami of the rice carrying through and a savoury, almost mushroomy edge underneath. It finishes clean and dry rather than sweet, which is what makes it such a good food sake. Warm it and the grain and umami come forward; serve it chilled and it tightens into something crisper. Either way it is a sake with body, not a delicate, fruity style.