It becomes a hassle to remember so many products and their subtle differences. It seems that if multiple importing channels were permissible, product could flow more easily and more economically, and a healthy competitive environment would be the positive result. Still, on the surface it seems like a little creativity and a willingness on the part of the BATF would go a long way. Next is the issue of adding alcohol to sake. Sake, as we know, is brewed from rice, with the help of koji, an enzyme-creating mold that breaks starches into sugars that can be fermented by the yeast.
Much sake also has some straight ethyl alcohol added to it for one reason or another.
In cheap sake, this alcohol is added so that the sake can be made more cheaply. It basically thins our the product, and sometimes other flavorings are added to keep things in line. In that sense, it is not a fortified beverage. In premium sake, a very small amount of alcohol is added to the fermenting mash a few hours before pressing. This serves the purpose of pulling out significantly more fragrant and flavorful components from the mash that are soluble in alcohol by temporarily increasing the alcohol content.