Alcohol content (alcohol by volume)

Alcohol content (arukoru dosu) refers to the proportion of ethyl alcohol, by volume, contained in an alcoholic beverage. It is generally used as an indicator of how concentrated the alcohol in a drink is, and is expressed in degrees. For sake, the most common alcohol content is around 15 percent, but there are also lower-alcohol sakes (15 percent or less) and higher-strength genshu (undiluted sake) at 18 to 20 percent. Alcohol content greatly affects the quality and flavor of sake and is one of the important factors in sake brewing. The usual method of measuring it is to distill the sake by a specific process, add water to bring it back to its original volume, and then measure at 15 degrees. In this way, alcohol content can be considered a basic indicator for understanding the character of sake.