Sake
Sake is first of all, a misnomer. In Japan the word refers to any alcoholic beverage, not just the drink called sake outside of Japan. The Japanese word for that specific drink is nihonshu. The sake that we know is a kind of rice wine, although the process of fermenting the rice is more akin to our brewing process. Sake is traditionally matured for 9 to 12 months and has a typical strength of 14 to 16% abv. There are many different types of sake, which are described and categorized in part by the amount of the rice grain which is polished away before fermentation and whether distilled alcohol is added to the finished product. Sake is generally meant to be consumed young, drank soon after its short aging period. However, one kind of sake, goshu (aged sake), is made in a way which makes it suitable for aging. Another style, taruzake, is aged in barrels made from Japanese cedar. Kuroshu is sake made from brown rice rather than the normal white rice.
Top Sake Posts:
Sake Roundup – Fukucho, Bushido, Tozai, Konteki, and Kanbara
Tasting SakeOne Imports: Hakutsuru Draft, Tanrei Junmai, Superior Junmai Ginjo, and Sho-Une Junmai Dai Ginjo
Sake Tasting and Mac Pairing with Sake Social
Sake has been on the rise with champagne cellar master collaborations and delivery services. There is also a growing number books to build upon the foundations set by John Gauntner’s The Sake Handbook and Sake ...
In matters of sake, I tend to defer to our sake expert Stephen Allison. If Steve’s not around, author Jeff Cioletti can sub in, with his “Non-Traditional Guide to Japan’s Traditional Beverage” serving as a ...
Champagne and Sake are two beverages that you’d think wouldn’t have much in common, but Heavensake proves otherwise. Founded by Piper-Heidsieck cellar master, Regis Camus, Heavensake fuses Champagne’s art of blending, and penchant for marketing ...
In April, we featured an article decoding Ginjo to get you started on your sake journey. One takeaway is that Ginjo sake can be seen as a “new” style because the technology needed to brew ...
We have long had online wine clubs and beer clubs, but sake? Tippsy, which launched in November 2018, is quickly positioning itself to be the US’s major online sake retailer and yes, online sake club. ...
Late last year I went shopping at one of the USA’s only sake specialty retailers, True Sake in San Francisco. When I mentioned that my favorite sake is Takasago’s Divine Droplets Junmai Daiginjo I was ...
Sake is a captivating beverage. For me, part of its allure lies in its diversity of style: sake can taste rich and savory or delicate and fruity, can be served chilled or piping hot, and ...
The Tedorigawa brand was introduced to me through the documentary The Birth of Sake. The film follows the brewery through a difficult six-month brewing season, which illustrates the skill and dedication required to brew sake in ...
“Tokubetsu,” which translates to “special selection,” is a vague term much like “reserve” in the wine world. More often than not it refers to a sake with non-ginjo attributes but polished to a ginjo level. ...
Mac and cheese is such an U.S. staple that it has its own one syllable moniker. Like Cher or Elvis, we also have Mac. I recently went down a sake/shochu/mac rabbit hole and damn, it was ...
