How do you like your sake?
- Hot
- Tepid
- Room temperature
- On ice
- From the freezer, no ice
0 voters
I prefer it steaming hot with some sashimi on a cold winter night, sitting all alone dreaming of lost loves.
Can’t really answer this. Having a direct link to air-shipped premo sake from Japan, I have a rather previleged insight into this.
Some sakes must be consumed cold, some warm. Some sakes must be kept in the fridge to retain their taste and must be drunk without too much delay (no prob).
Good sake is good sake, warm or iced.
When I get around to it, I have been asked to go to the ‘Drinks’ shop and list the sakes available according to quality (assuming any are worth buying). I’ll post this when I do.
Currently working on a 1.8 liter bottle of sake from the opposite side of Tokyo that is only sold by lottery.
Ba hai shan (in Chinese) is a good cold sake if you can find it. Smooth with just a suggestion of dryness but not sweet.
One thing I can say about sake for those who have not really tried it much: spend the money and you will see the difference. Ho-hum sake can taste like cheap Chinese firewater to flavored lighter fluid. Quality sake is a world apart from these.
I’m with Mr Quirkey. I like mine hot, chicken kebabs on the side, a litte bit of kim chi and a bowl of white Thai rice, some red lanterns glowing in the dark, a cold winter night in Seoul, O SakE! Been there, done that.
Any good places to get good sake here in Tienmou?
and to Mr Reinhold, sir.
How do you get the privilege of “Having a direct link to air-shipped premo sake from Japan?”
JW
Wolf, it would be good if you could do a survey of the locally available sake, for those of us who like a drop but don’t know what’s what. Could you reco me a decent warm or hot sake?
Brian
Wolf, you ought to start up a thread on sake like tigermans’ beer thread. We could all learn a lot. And maybe once in a while even organize a sake tasting event.
Thank you for the insight, Wolf. I am impressed. 
Yes, Wolf, it would be great if you started a sake thread. Have nice fuzzy memories of sipping hot sake in little Tokyo pubs on cold winter nights.
Yes, Wolf…
A sake thread would be interesting, I think.
Perhaps the expertise of Wolf and Tigerman could be brought together to create some kind of beer-sake cocktail. Then again…
actually, the way most Japanese drink sake is like this, re the beer-saki cocktail HKSNC suggests:
first they order a big mug of ice cold beer or a bottle of Asahi or Kirin. They drink that FIRST. with appetizers, Then the meal arrives, they switch to saki hot or cold. they NEVER drink saki just by itself, the night always begin with beer first. i heard from my old old old old old Japanese girlfriend in Paris that the beer coats the stomach or something. However, never having been in Japan what would formosa know.
Oops, cats out of the bag.
I am by no means an expert on sake. Check the Net if you want to know about it. But I can tell you this:
These are the four brands for sale in a Drinks shop in Tienmu:
Gekkeikan NT$640
Kitaguni no Turu NT$544
Fuki botan NT$720
Genroku bijin NT$595
They are all 1.8 liter containers, the first two being in glass bottles, the last two in Tetra Paks.
I have never tried any of these, but sharper minds that me say that the first one is very famous in Japan, although the comment was: "My mother uses it for cooking.
None of these are “ginjyo,” or “fresh,” meaning that they can be stored at room temperature and do not have to be consumed in a timely fashion.
I like drinking it at room temperature, or slightly chilled. You must try it from a “masu,” (枡), a square box which is traditionally used as a measure for rice. The masu is placed on a dish and sake poured. It is allowed to overflow slightly. Once I consume some of the sake, I pour the overflow back into the masu. The masu is maybe 200 ml.
Some good sakes I’ve tried are
-Rihaku (李白） (yes, the Chinese poet). In New York it’s maybe 17 (NT 578) per masu.
-Dewazakura’s (出羽桜) sakes are good and reasonably priced. Available for export from Japan as well (dewazakura.co.jp/dsyouhin.htm)
-Jozenmizunogotoshi (上善如水) - refreshing and fragrant, from Niigata (新潟） Prefecture, home of Japan’s best tasting rice. Some information can be found here: nta.co.jp/kanto/dizake/