@J_L: Longer answer
There is a whole fun new world out there of unpasteurized/single pasteurized sake! In the fall many breweries release their draft sake (almost always single pasteurized) which are called Hiyaroshi, and around Feb/March is when you see the release of some nama sake (non pasteurized).
Some say these are the original flavors of sake, particularly the non pasteurized. Even better if the nama sake is muroka (unfiltered, many filtered sakes are done so with charcoal), and most of the time is also undiluted (genshu). So if you get a nama that also says muroka nama genshu, it’s as pure as it gets. Then there are differing rice polish grades (ie Junmai, Junmai Ginjo, Junmai Daiginjo), with brewers in different geographical locations using different water and techniques to create interesting combinations.
They recommend you drink most of these right away for best results, and of course ideally keep them in the refrigerator.
There are fanatics out there (not many) that experiment with sake and aging, and even try to age nama’s for fun and trying out the results, but unless you are really dedicated and passionate about this, don’t mess around and just enjoy it right away.
Rightfully chilled nama sake are excellent and refreshing to enjoy during the hot summer months. The perfect no brainer sake. I’ve actually tasted this Ginjo Nama Genshu straight out of the freezer when it turned into slush (more like a sake slurpee). Super good and fun
And then you have places like Narisawa in Tokyo…did a sake pairing there and was served a nama that was lukewarm which worked incredibly well with the dish at the moment. Very out of the box.
One of the best high performance nama’s out there is Kakeya which I wrote about here
Kinjiro charges a somewhat reasonable $75 a bottle, it’s worth trying it there with the food. They also supposedly stock the Dewazakura Dewasansan Junmai Ginjo nama, which might also be worth trying if that’s still available.
And of course the Born Junmai Daiginjo Muroka Nama Genshu (blue bottle) with the sticker that says “umami” in Japanese, at least we can find that easily here in Northern California Nijiya supermarkets. But I think Kakeya’s umami blows it out of the water (also Kakeya is more ricey).
Then of course there’s True Sake and you can mail order them as well.
At Raku, there’s Akishika Muroka Nama Genshu (500 mL only) which is ridiculously dry on the scale (SMV +18, Izumi Judan’s SMV is 10) and should be great with their food offerings. Amabuki Strawberry Yeast Nama is another fun one to try. Both of these are Junmai Ginjo.
In general, most nama sake are fail safe with izakaya fare and yakitori. Nama zume probably go better with sushi and otsumami (and sake friendly food).
I’m sure you have heard of the legendary sake brewery Juyondai 十四代. A large percentage of their Junmai Daiginjo lineup are all single pasteurized/nama zume.