Handling Sake
Saké should be stored in a cool dark space with little temperature fluctuation. Actually, the colder the better down to freezing. Cold storing slows the aging process and allows even unpasteurized saké to hold up longer.
Don’t age it in the typical wine cellar and don’t hold it for years thinking it may improve. Saké is bottled ready to drink. Saké is best enjoyed young and has a 12 – 18 month shelf life if not stored cold. At about a year, saké begins to show more rapid flavor changes as it gets more earthy and mushroomy in aroma and flavor with an increasingly dense body. It’s not going bad but is changing from the expected.
To Be Hot or Not
American’s, with a brief saké history, are accustomed to it served hot in the little pitchers (tokkuris) and cups (ochokos). They are accustomed to drinking it fast, like a shot and not really thinking about its flavor. What they don’t know, is that their hot saké is bulk, cheap, mass produced and if not hot, probably doesn’t taste too good. Think bulk, box wine – the cheapest of the jugs. While in Japan there are some styles that are wonderful when served warm in the winter, very few are available in the states.
The premium saké of today is best served chilled, not ice cold, but chilled about 48 – 55F. As you taste various sake start them out cold, then let them warm in the glass and taste as it warms. The flavor will change and the ideal point for presentation will be clear. Note this and show each sake at the temperature you find the most flavor present.
Serving Sake
We’ve already established that the best vessel to sip saké from is a wine glass. While we would like to stand firm on that as the only way to serve saké, we do understand that many restaurants want an authentic vibe to their presentation. For that, the Tokkuri (pitcher) and ochoko (little cup) are the best method. For special presentation they may want to consider a masu cup (square cup).
It is important to talk about the serving options with your account. Some, like many of the non-Asian restaurants who are adding saké, may find the cost of the traditional vessels prohibitive to adding sake to their list. They need to know that they already have the best drinking vessel for saké; their wine glasses. No further investment needed except the saké.
To Bomb or Tini
The lack of understanding saké, combined with our penchant to innovate and explore, has brought about some interesting concepts like the sakétini and the saké bomb. One is viable, the other simply sad from a saké enthusiast’s perspective.
Sakétinis evolved as a means to get Americans to drink saké in any form possible. Sakétinis were a tasty and easy option. Some wonderful cocktails were created and today we find the nation’s leading mixologists promoting the idea due to the lower alcohol, calorie and glucose option. We have found that saké adds character (body & flavor) to a cocktail with spirits and when mixed in balance with fresh fruit and herbs, the saké flavor becomes a delicious component of a cocktail. Properly made sakétinis are about balance and respect the nature of saké.
Dropping a “shot” of saké into a pint of beer (saké bomb) with a ritual of chanting is fun for a youthful crowd. It is not, however, about drinking saké – more about drinking beer, fast. Some accounts promote saké bombs because they are profitable. We’ll not take that away, but promoting responsible, appropriate consumption is a priority to moving saké forward in America. Drink sake, not bombs.
Regions:
Diversity of flavor and character is often defined by region, or more precisely by Prefecture. Each Prefecture has variation in rice, water, climate and yeasts. In many cases, Prefecture distinction is a source of pride and carries a seal of quality like the “Niigata OC” which defines ingredients and style. It was once said that, in general terms, saké brewed in the North is light and mellow while saké in the South is big and hearty. This is a rule of thumb and does not always hold true.
Storing Sake
Sake is bottled for consumption, not for aging. Unlike wine, more like Scotch. However, unlike Scotch, sake does not hold up for a long time in the bottle, maybe 12 – 18 months at average room temperature. Longer if stored cold. So, it is again, beer like. Freshness matters and buying to consume within a short amount of time should rule purchasing patterns. Should you choose to store it, put it in the fridge. If you put it in the cellar with your wine and allow it to age for a few years it may be better to simply leave it there. A recent tasting of a 5 year old, cellar aged, sake was an unpleasant event. What once was a great bottle of sake had gone very bad. A similar tasting of a10 year old sake that was cold stored presented a very pleasant and surprising evening.
Stylistic Diversity
One of the least common things known about sake is that a single batch can be managed in dozens of ways to end up with dozens of styles. From one Junmai Ginjo could come a Nigori, a Yamahai, Shiburitate, Shizuoku, Genshu……It’s simply amazing. Sake has 7 categories and from these come thousands of styles. Luckily there are a set of core styles to focus on.