Sake Bottle Label Design

A specially designed Sake Bottle for Sake Lovers

My Objective

To design a Sake Bottle Packaging Design for the different flavors

My Backstory

I chose to design a Sake Bottle when I ate dinner at my friend's restaurant, Pa'ina, in Japantown in San Francisco. I saw the Blue Sake Bottle behind the bar, and I asked my friend if I was able to take an empty bottle home if a customer drank it, but instead, he gave it to me for free, but only if I drank it with him. Although I don't like or drink alcohol because of the taste, I can taste the difference between Good and Bad Sake. This Sake tasted gross

and I can tell it was lower-grade Sake.

However, I love the color of the bottle, and I decided to design these 3 Sake Bottles in different flavors. I bought the Nigori Sake and Junmai-ginjo Sake at BevMo.

The Design Approach

The design of this package was to attract Sake lovers and those who want to try different Sake flavors. Each Sake is prepared differently, and some can be served hot or cold. The design on the back of the bottle and the color not only correspond to the words in traditional Chinese/Japanese Calligraphy.

Overall, the design of the Sake Bottle Packaging Design was intentional and slowly came to fruition as I dug deeper into my research. Since I am not an Alcohol or Sake fanatic, I had to do my research and educate myself about the different types of Sake. To my surprise, I didn't realize that Sake came in different flavors and grades. I was very fascinated by my research and learned how the Sake was made at the breweries.

The design artwork was hand-painted with Acrylic paint. I did not have watercolor paint to create the illusion of watercolor, which was what I was going for. To achieve this watercolor effect, I added water to the paint. The color turned out really great when I tested it out.

The back of the bottle was designed intentionally to indicate a Japanese word that corresponds to the color of the bottle, which worked out perfectly.

Junmai-ginjo Sake

The Japanese character is 水, meaning Water in English. I intentionally chose this Sake Bottle due to the clear color, since water is clear. The Koi fish is a popular fish in Japan. The Koi fish surrounding 水 shows the ripple effects and water movement as the Koi fish swims around the 水. 水 also has a very unique sense of movement to mimic a river stream that has multiple canals.

Nigori Sake

I specifically chose the Nigori Sake Bottle to represent 春 in Japanese, which means Spring in English. The pink color indicates the Japanese Cherry Blossom that grows
in the springtime. The Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival takes place in April to celebrate the Spring Season. The drawing on the back of the Sake Bottle represents the Cherry Blossom blossoming in the springtime.

Ginjo Sake

The Japanese character 山 means Mountain. 山 depicts the hills and humps of a mountain. When I painted the mountain, there wasn't any bluish tint on the design, but when I scanned it on the CamScanner App, it automatically added the blue tint, which perfectly matches the color of the Sake Bottle.

I also thought about the moment when you fly above the clouds on a plane; you can see the mountains in a bluish color depending on the time of day and the colors reflecting onto the mountains. In addition, Fuji Mountain is Japan's most popular mountain, showing a good representation of Japan. This blue tint also represents snow and ice on the mountain, which indicates coolness and refreshment.

Sake Bottle Design Packaging

3 Different Types of Sake and Flavors

The Backstory

Sake is a traditional alcoholic beverage in Japan. Sake is made from fermented rice. The rice and brewing technique were developed in China around the 2nd Century BC.
In the 3rd Century AD, Sake in Japan came into existence along with rice cultivation around 2,500 years ago. Sake Production and Brewing Division was established in the Imperial Court between the 7th and 10th centuries. By the 8th Century, Sake frequently appeared in domestic documents, where one document hinted that brewers used koji, also known as mold, to make Sake.

In 689, the Imperial Court created a special division that governed sake brewing, where only the privileged had access to sake, excluding the Imperial Court Officials and Religious Leaders. During the 10th Century, the code of practice also known as "Engishiki" revealed many of the customs and traditions related to sake, with details about the Sake brewing process. The Engishiki outlines Sake's ranking system based on the brewing method and technique. For example, the higher rank you are, the rich-flavored and clear the Sake is. The lower ranks will be served unrefined, murky Sake.

The Sake is occasionally heated in a special pot and accompanied by dried fish and shellfish, salt, and miso on the side.

Similar to Western Culture, we celebrated with a toast of wine and alcohol. In Japan, Sake is typically served during New Year's and festivals, offering Sake to their Gods.

During wartime, there were rice shortages that affected the general population and Sake consumption, resulting in controlled Sake pricing and production by the government. The government introduced a technique to dilute Sake with neutral Spirits to help reduce the amount of rice used in Sake production. In 1943, the government introduced a grading system for Sake taxation.

After the war was over, Sake production and consumption peaked in the 1970s, boosted by the post-war economic growth. In the 1980s, companies improved the Sake brewing techniques using new strains of yeast, which produced a fruity aroma called the
Ginjo-shu.

In 1992, the grading system for taxation ended; however, sake production started to decrease by the end of the 1990s and continued to decrease until it plateaued around 2010. Owners of small breweries began to take over the brewing process, which allowed the owners to design the flavor, leading to the trend of the more well-crafted Sake we see today. As a result, specially designated Sake increased, which became very popular in Japanese cuisine overseas. Sake exports began to pick up and continue to increase today.

My Sake Flavors

There are 5 main types of Sake.

Junmai-shu
- Contains pure, unadulterated Sake and no brewer's alcohol, additional starch, or sugar added to it.
- Junmai-shu uses Seimai Buai of a minimum of 70% of milled rice, which means no more than 70% of the rice maintains its original size and about 30% of the rice grains have their outer layer removed.
- The Sake is often served hot, and the fragrance is not very prominent but has a full richness to it.
Ginjo-shu
- Ginjo-shu is made with 40% milled rice while 60% retains its original size, has a wonderful aroma, and a delicate and light flavor.
- Ginjo-shu is made from a special type of yeast and fermented mashed rice at low temperatures, which is why it requires labor-intensive techniques to prepare Sake.
- This drink is best when served cold to retain its flavor and aroma.
Daiginjo-shu
- Daiginjo-shu is a type of Ginjo-shu that uses rice mash made with Sake rice that includes milled rice with a percentage between 35%-50%.
- This alcohol is high in fragrance and has a delicate taste.
Honjozo-shu
- Honjozo-shu uses Sake rice with a Seimai Buai of at least 70% milled rice.
- The Sake is made by adding brewer's alcohol and is not as potent as those made without adding additional alcohol
- This drink is light, smooth, and flavorful and is typically served warm
Namazake
- Namazake means that the alcohol is not pasteurized.
- This Sake needs to be refrigerated so that the flavor and aroma do not change.