refined sake; clear Japanese sake
Refers to refined or clear sake, as opposed to cloudy or unrefined sake such as どぶろく. In everyday conversation, 日本酒 is often the more familiar general word for sake.
See also: 濁酒 (どぶろく)
この酒蔵では清酒を製造している。
This brewery produces refined sake.
This brewery makes refined sake using traditional methods.
清酒は冷やしても温めても飲まれる。
Refined sake is drunk both chilled and warmed.
We drank refined sake at the celebration.
清酒 is the everyday word for refined sake, while 聖人 in this sense is a rare, old-fashioned literary term for the same thing.
濁酒 is cloudy, unrefined sake, directly contrasting with 清酒, which is clear, filtered sake.
Sake is commonly counted with 本 when referring to bottles.
A Sino-Japanese compound: 清 means clear or pure, and 酒 means alcoholic drink or sake. The spelling directly reflects the idea of clear, refined sake.