New-style Japanese Sake

Sake is an alcoholic beverage with a long history that have been mentioned in the 3rd century. It is mainly made from rice and water.
Nowaday beer is most popular in Japan and wine is also popular among women, though less drink it.

On the contrary Sake is gradually getting popular all over the world as the Japanese cuisine has come to be accepted. Some bars in Paris and London serve several types of Sake and hold a tasting party. Western people enjoyed Japanese dishes with white wine when it was introduced initially. But they realized that the stimulating taste of wasabi and Japanese mustard, the flavor unique to raw fish and the delicate scent of  Japanese soup stock made from fish and kelp lurking behind the taste of soysauce could not be sensed with wine from grape. Sake is different from wine in the amount of sugar and a kind of acid involved and naturally each of them has its own suitable food.


The tendency influenced some Sake brewers to produce it suitable to Western food. These Sake on the pic are made at Ichinokura Sake Brewery in Miyagi prefecture which is famous for production of Sake and suffered from the quake on 11 March 2011. The one on the left is Himezen with lower alcohol (8%) and the flavor of citrus fruits. The other on the right is Suzune, a sparkling Sake with comfortable sweetness and mellow acid. You'd be better to drink it chilled at around the same temperature to white wine. We usually use ochoko, small cylindrical cup to drink Sake, but you can taste it with wine glass or tumbler.

Please don't forget that you can help the damade areas by means of drinking Sake.

Ichinokura Co.,Ltd.
http://www.ichinokura.co.jp/english.html