Kon-ni-chi-wa funseekers. Let’s talk about a Japanese treasure that is puzzling to most Americans. I believe the intimidation factor of not knowing what sake is, contributes to most of us not partaking in this delicate and delicious adult beverage. So allow me to enlighten you so that you may indulge in ordering, drinking, and enjoying the sake experience.
In Japan, sake is the national beverage and is served with a special ceremony. Before being served, it is warmed in a small earthenware or porcelain bottle called a tok-ku-ri. Premium sake is usually served at room temperature to appreciate it’s delicate flavor and characteristic. Sake can also be served cold or on ice. Sake can also be served hot but most sake served hot in American Asian establishments are inferior in quality and oftentimes the left over sake is combined and served hot. Remember that when you serve something hot, you mask or hide all the flaws of the sake, very similar to Americans drinking ice cold beer, we do that because it’s refreshing, but also to hide the flaws. If you don’t believe me, next time you drink a beer, drink it at room temperature. In Japan, there are eleven categories for the different temperatures of the sake before serving. Sake is best consumed less than a year after bottling.
Sake is made from fermented rice. Sake is light in color, is non-carbonated, has a delicate sweet flavor, and contains about 14 to 16 percent alcohol. Sake is often mistakenly called wine because of its appearance and alcohol content, however, it is made in a process known as multiple parallel fermentation, in which rice is converted from starch to sugar followed by conversion to alcohol. Special strains of rice are precisely milled to remove the outer layers, a process that reduces the grain to 50 to 70 percent of its original size. Production begins with kome-koji, a preparation of steamed rice and koji, a fungus that converts the starchy rice to fermentable sugars. The koji is mixed with water and fresh steamed rice, traditionally by hand, and is wrapped in a blanket and incubated to form a sweet crumbly dry material. This is then placed in a vat with more rice and water. This mixture is allowed to ferment for about four weeks with sake yeast. This produces a mixture with an alcohol content of about 11 percent called moto. More koji, steamed rice, and water are added to the vat and a second fermentation process begins lasting about seven days. Throughout this process, the grain remains in a single vat, which distinguishes sake fermentation from fermentation processes for other types of alcohol, including beer. After resting for another seven days, the sake is filtered, pasteurized, and bottled.
Sake is categorized on the following three parameters:
Grade:
Junmai: this is the purest grade with no additional alcohol being added to this sake.
Honjozo: Produced only in Japan, this sake includes a small amount of brewer’s alcohol, a neutral distilled spirit, to bring out its flavors.
Futsu-shu: This is your basic sake and produced without any regulations and typically served hot, as heat masks impurities in sake.
Style:
With the exception of Genshu, alcohol content of sake generally ranges from 14% to 16%.
Genshu: Undiluted full strength sake typically bottled at 18% to 20% alcohol by volume.
Koshu: Aged sake.
Nama: Unpasteurized sake that needs to be refrigerated.
Nigori: Sake with a cloudy appearance due to less filtration process.
Rice Polishing:
Lesser the polishing, higher is the quality of sake as less polished rice contains more flavor.
Dai-ginjo: Rice polished 35%-49% (Ultra premium sake).
Ginjo: Rice polished 50%-60% (Premium sake).
Tokubetsu Junmai: Rice polished at least 65%.
Here are some tips for proper sake pouring etiquette one should be mindful of:
Always pour for others and allow someone else to pour and fill your sake cup.
Make sure you place two hands on the tokkuri ceramic flask when pouring sake to others.
When receiving sake, hold the small ochaku cup in the palm of your hand and gently rest the fingers of the free hand on the side of the cup.
To show respect, lift the cup slightly towards the pourer.
Be sure to wait for everyone's drink to be served and then raise your cup for a toast.
Kam-pai or cheers!
Fun fact: The English word “sake” is sei-shu in Japanese.
October 1st is World Sake Day.
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