ASN (Another Sake Newbie)

[Charlie Kondek]

Hey, all. I've started getting into sake, have read up on it a little, and read through some of the posts here, but some things are still a little vague to me.

First off, I'm normally a whiskey and scotch drinker who also likes his beer and wine. Sake is so unlike anything I've ever had before in that it's fragrant like wine, sort of refreshing like beer and kicks like hard liquor.

I started drinking sake at the banquets following kendo tournaments, and I've had some bad sake. A lot of the Japanese I saw drinking it, or with whom I drank it, toasted with it and then went back to drinking beer. I know that will offend some purists.

Recently, I got stuck with a big bottle of Gekkeikan. I'm sure it's not very good sake, so I refrigerated it and figured I'd hit off it over the course of the next couple of months. I guess here's my questions...

Drinking sake heated vs. chilled vs. room temp; there seems to be no hard and fast rule on this. Your opinions? Does it vary from sake to sake? How do you heat it? Usually when I've had heated sake, it's the whole bottle plunged into an urn of hot water.

What are some good "table sakes" or generic, run-of-the-mill sakes? This Geikkekan stuff - is it the Budweiser of sake or the Heineken of sake or the, gulp, Colt .45 of sake?

Thanks in advance.

[Neil Yamamoto]

Since I seem to answer most of the alcohol related questions, I can handle another.

Treat Sake like a good wine. It does not hold up well once open. So that bottle of Geikkekan should be consumed soon, even refrigerated it will oxidize and end up tasting worse as time passes. I tend to use it for cooking if I’ve had it more than a couple –three weeks, or serve it to people with no taste in booze.

I won’t get into specifics, like the different classes of sake like honjozu-shu, junmai-shu, ginjo, and daiginjo-shu, and terms like namzake, and nigori. You can find this stuff all over the internet if you are interested. Try http://www.sake-world.com/index.html for good information on brand recommendations and tasting notes.

Sticking to general information for hot or cold. Yes, it varies from sake to sake. Sake can vary widely in quality. Lower quality sake should be heated and they will all be about the same in my book. Heat takes the nasty aftertastes away and makes it taste good or at least palatable. For better quality sake, drink it at room temperture, chilled, or very cold. Again, it varies by sake.

To heat it, traditional is in hot water to the desired temperature. I like it about body temp if warm. The cheaper the sake, the higher the temperature it’s heated to in most restaurants. If you want to be a modern about it, about 30-45 seconds in a microwave to about 10-12 ozs of sake.

Of the “easily found in grocery store” stuff, Hakusan makes a pretty tasty sake in California. I think this is one of the better low end easy to find brands that taste good warm. Of the other easy to find brands compared to Geikkekan, Kiku Masamune is sweeter and lighter in flavor, Ozeki is pretty good, a little crisper and cleaner tasting, Shochikubai is about the same as Ozeki, and Geikkekan is slightly salty tasting to me. Well it sure is not the sake equivalent of Colt .45 malt liqour, it’s not my favorite either.

Now, some of the higher quality Japanese imports for heating are very good, but Momokawa brand is less expensive and tastes great, so why bother? For heating, a 750ml bottle of sake for more than $12 or so doesn’t make sense to me.

If I’m buying sake, I go for the American made sake, specifically, Momokawa brand, by Sake One in Oregon. The quality is great for a much better price than the Japanese imports. These are made to drink cold. I like the Diamond, Ruby, yuzo(flavored), and Pearl, the best. The flavored ones, pear, hazelnut, are very good, but just not to my taste with the exception of the yuzo. Warning on the Pearl, it’s slightly stronger and very sweet. It can sneak up on you very quickly with a nasty aftereffect hangover.

If you know people with allergies to sulfites, sake can be a good answer for their alcohol consumption as well. There are no sulfites in properly made sake.

Some people claim only Japan can produce proper sake. Yeah, sure. Sake One, USA made sake won in a blind tasting competition in Japan and that upset some people. So, drink whatever sake you like and can afford. Heck, there is even a sake company making “Kirisuto no Sato” (Hometown of Christ) sake. Fish and wine - sake and sashimi. It all works for me.

:toast:

[Charlie Kondek]

The Japanese food section of my local store has Hakusan as well as Geikkekan, so I'll try that as well. I'll keep my eyes peeled for Momokawa.

Cooking with sake? How, what? The same way you would use cooking wine? (In sauces, gravies?)

In terms of heating it - just plunge the whole bottle into hot water for a few minutes, or is there a special vessel for such a thing?

I like the Geikkekan, and I like it cold. Might be a pretty good one for a beginner. I'll try to finish it off soon!

[Neil Yamamoto]

For heating your sake, try

http://www.japonaji.com/sakesets.html

Simply fill the tokkuri- the ceramic bottle in the set, place in the hot water, and let set until warmed. The little cups are called, ochoko.

Use sake like a crisp white wine for marinating salmon, chicken, a bit in a stir fry seasoning. It doesn't work too well for beef or pork unless the meat is in small slices or diced. I used sake to marinate a flank steak.

To my taste buds, it works best when you want a lighter seasoned dish. Of course, it works best in Asian foods to me, but I have had some of the pan-asian stuff that was not too bad using sake at restaurants.

Have fun