Simply Sake

Until this weekend, all I knew about sake was that it could be ordered either warm or cold in restaurants that serve Asian food.  I am still far from an expert, but I have now tasted a full range of sake, from basic to exotic, many available only in Japan.  My particular experience is courtesy of the Joy of Sake event at the Honolulu Academy of Arts.  This event is interesting for a couple of reasons.  First, there are only three:  New York, San Francisco and Honolulu.  Honolulu is MUCH smaller than either of the other venues, but attracts similar international events not available to mainland cities of its size.  The second reason is that it demonstrates how popular sake is here.

When Rick and I first moved to Hawaii, we surveyed the liquor section of the grocery store.  There are one or two bourbons, a small handful of scotches, and an aisle and a half of sake.  We would look at all of them, clueless, wondering what makes a good or bad sake?   It seems like such a wonderful opportunity to learn about something new, we both wanted to engage.  Had the Joy of Sake event not presented itself, we could have explored other opportunities.  Several restaurants and bars in Hawaii offer sake tastings or flights (a set of samples).  Sake is best enjoyed with food and most local venues would be happy to suggest an appropriate sake for your meal.

This is what I learned this weekend.  There are ten sake-brewing regions in Japan and one sake brewery on Okinawa.  The four sake categories describe the rice-polishing ratio:  the percentage of the rice kernel that remains after polishing.  The are: Junmai (at least 70%), Gingo (60%+), Daiginjo B (40-50%) and Daiginjo A (40% or less).  The lower the polishing ratio, the higher the quality of the sake.  According to the program from Joy of Sake, experts pay attention to five areas when rating sake: balance, taste, aroma, finish and overall impression.   Balance is the most important. 

Sake is clear and subtle.  Its flavor is much lighter than any liquor and most wines.  It pairs well with Japanese and other Asian food because it is not overwhelming.  Don’t be afraid to try it – you won’t make a wrong choice.  There is no rigid definition of which sake goes with what food.  And, as the Joy of Sake program says (quoting Takao Nihei) "There’s no such thing as a bad sake."

Posted by Cindy Scheopner  Follow me on Twitter @Scheopner
 

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Published by Bruce Fisher

Since 2006 Bruce Fisher has been publishing the Hawaii Vacation Blog and the Hawaii Vacation Connection Podcast which create daily content about Hawaii Travel and Tourism. This Blog is the only online resource providing Hawaii-based information aimed at travelers seven days per week. postings reflect the Hawaiian Islands, their culture and their lifestyle as accurately and thoroughly as possible.

Entry Filed under: Fun Stuff

August 25th, 2009