Dassai 23, from Asahi Shuzo, swept the board at the inaugural Eat-Japan Sake Awards: Top Brewery Taste-Off , winning four out of seven categories after a massive three-day public tasting with more than 1000 people taking part.

After three days of sipping, nibbling and tasting, the votes were totted up and the seven breweries took to the stage on Sunday February 26 to see which sake had captured the hearts, minds and tastebuds of the voting public. Dassai 23, from Asahi Shuzo, was the clear winner, taking four of the seven awards up for grabs. Dassai 23 is a junmai daiginjoshu, with a delicate and juicy nose rich with fresh florals, peach and honeydew melon. The sake is also distinctive for its high rice polished ratio, of 77%, meaning the rice is milled to just 23% of it's original size.

On winning the People's Choice Sake Award Kaoru Iida, representing Asahi Shuzo, said: "I'm very happy to have won this prize and like to take the opportunity to thank organisers and all the people who tried the sake. Remember that all our sake has its own characteristics, so please choose your own sake according to each meal and occasion."

The full results were as follows:

People's Choice Sake: Dassai 23 / Asahi Shuzo
Finest Balance of Aroma and Flavour: Dassai 23/ Asahi Shuzo
Best Food Matching: Dassai 23/ Asahi Shuzo
Best Sake Story: Mukantei Ginjo/ Kikusui Sake
Best Label/Bottle Design: Sho Chiku Bai Shirakabegura Kimoto Junmai/Sho Chiku Bai Shirakabegura
Best Naming Sense: Dassai 23/ Asahi Shuzo
Best Value for Money: Mukantei Ginjo / Kikusui Sake