Las Vegas Weekly

April 20, 2009 · 2:30 PM

Sake signs: Your guide to sake safety and satisfaction

By Xania Woodman

Delicious and misunderstood: Strap on your goggles; it's time to sip sake.

Photo: Xania Woodman

For the second year in a row, the grand tasting at Southern Wine & Spirits' UNLVino included Sake Alley, a sake-only zone dedicated to one of the most complex, revered and misunderstood beverages on the market. Neither a wine nor a beer, sake is a mildly alcoholic rice beverage that is brewed like a beer but which has its own characteristics and its own vernacular. To help you navigate the slippery slopes of sake understanding, the Weekly presents a sake primer!"

Easiest: Ginjo (premium) – Medium-bodied, compact yet subtle. You have to start somewhere!

Try: Jokigen “Happiness, Junmai Ginjo, Yamagata Japan, 16-17 percent alcohol – The perfect introduction to sake. Refreshing, crisp and clean with just a touch of green pear and melon.

Intermediate: Junmai Ginjo (pure rice, premium) - Medium-bodied, more complex.

Try: Mizbasho “Early Bloom” (gold medal winner at The Joy of Sake 2008), Junmai Ginjo, Toyama Japan, 15-16 percent alcohol – Enjoy aromas of fruits and spices with a round, tangy finish.

Groomer’s Choice: TY KU “Black”, Junmai Ginjo, Forrest Grove Oregon, 15 percent alcohol – Substantial, with peach on the nose, a subtle hint of spice underneath and a crisp finish. Clean, pure and medium-bodied.

Most Difficult: Junmai Daiginjo (pure rice, ultra-premium) – Light-bodied, full of complexity and nuance.

Try: Hakutsuru Sho-une, Junmai Daiginjo, Hyogo Japan, 15.5 percent alcohol – This graceful sake has a fruity scent, a velvety smoothness and can be enjoyed chilled or at room temperature.

Groomer’s Choice: Hatsumago–Shozui “First Grand Child”, Junmai Daiginjo, Yamagata Japan, 16-17 percent - Creamy and silky on the palate, with distinct strawberry yogurt notes to the nose and a lingering finish.

Professional/Expert: Junmai Daiginjo (pure rice, ultra-premium) – Light-bodied and not for the faint of heart!

Try: Horin “Good Fortune” (gold medal winner at The Joy Of Sake 2007), Junmai Daiginjo, Kyoto Japan, 15.5 percent alcohol – A mild sake with clean flavors, mushrooms on the nose, and a hint of licorice/anise on the finish.

Extreme: Genshu (cask-strength, undiluted). You may need a helmet.

Try: Momokawa “G Joy”, Genshu, Forest Grove Oregon, 18 percent alcohol – A helmet may be required for this full-strength American sake with layers of ripe, tropical fruit notes and exotic spices.

Back Country: Nigori (Cloudy, Milky) and Genshu (cask-strength, undiluted)

Try: Sayuri “Little Lily”, Nigori, Hyogo Japan, 12.5 percent alcohol – Your eyes and nose may tell you Nigori-style sakes are sweet but that’s not always the case. Light and floral and best served chilled.

Groomer’s Choice: Murai, Nigori Genshu, Aomori Japan, 19.9 percent alcohol – This undiluted, cask-strength sake is creamy in texture and slightly sweet … with a kick!

Terrain Park: Flavored – Non-traditional, friendly, just for fun. You’re off the map now!

Try: Hana “Fuji Apple”, Junmai base, Berkeley California, 8 percent - Just for fun, another great intro to sake but for the sweeter palate.

Hana “Lychee”, Junmai base, Berkeley California, 8 percent - This exotic non-traditional sake has both jasmine and wild flowers on the nose. Sweet and friendly.

Apres Ski: Japagne – A hot, new trend in sake, Japange is sparkling sake or Japanese “champagne”, hence Japange.

Try: Hoshiusagi “Star Rabbit” Blueberry Infused, Japange, Nara Japan, 7 percent alcohol – This lightly sparkling sake is infused with blueberry juice and blushes vibrantly with the taste and fragrance of the plump, sweet summer blueberries. Serve well chilled.

Groomer’s Choice: Zipang, Junmai Daiginjo, Japange, Kyoto, Japan, 6-7 percent alcohol – Sweet yet refreshingly light, Zipang by Gekkeikan is naturally carbonated and perfect for poolside—or slopeside—sipping.

Demo: Unique, specialty

Try: Jokigen “Sweet Dream”, Specialty, Yamagata Japan, 9-10 percent alcohol – Light, refreshing and uncomplicated, with hints of rice essence and a fruity acidity not usually found in sake. Not unlike a Riesling.

It’s pronounced “SAH-kay”

By Luis de Santos, MS/Sake Specialist, Southern Wine & Spirits

Sake: Noun, a mildly alcoholic beverage made from rice.

Brewed as early as 4800 BC in the Yangtze River valley of China, sake was soon imported to Japan where it has been the staple alcoholic beverage for centuries. Although erroneously called a rice wine, sake is its own category and is brewed like a beer.

Here are a few pointers to demystify the complex world of sake: Try a few, be adventurous and understand the joy of this elixir once served only to gods! “Kanpai!”

The Banzai Beverage guys: Mr. Takahiro and Jokigen Brewmaster, Mr. Sato, know their sake.

The four basic components of sake:

• RICE – Not your ordinary table rice, sake rice is many times more expensive than Uncle Ben’s. There are about 80 different types used, but the Grand Daddy of all sake rice is called Yamada Nishiki.

• WATER – It represents 80 percent of the final product. Unlike wine where grapes have their natural juice, sake and beer both require water. Each sake’s water source is taken from different wells in different provinces and has its own unique softness and hardness that affect the way sake is brewed. As with wine, there is terroir in sake.

• KOJI – A mold spore that is propagated with a special batch of cooked rice. Its enzymes convert starch into fermentable sugars. Without koji, this rice-based drink would be like horchata, a milky, cinnamon rice beverage made without alcohol.

• LOVE – This is where sake’s myriad of flavors come from. It’s like having two great chefs preparing a single dish from the best products—the outcome is always influenced by his or her individual interpretation. The use of different rice, water sources, koji techniques and polishing down of the rice kernel are the master brewer’s secret.

A sake primer:

• Junmai Daiginjo (Ultra Premium) – Rice kernels are polished down to a minimum 50 percent of their original size. Some brewers have been known to polish away as much as three quarters of the original size. Elegant in style with a refined finish, most fall into the light-bodied category.

Somehow that white bottle of Ty-Ku always seems to call our name.

• Junmai Ginjo (Premium) – Rice kernels are polished down to a minimum 60 percent of their original size. Compact yet elegant in style, Junmai Ginjo fall still falls into the medium-bodied category.

• Junmai (Pure Rice) – Rice kernels are polished away up to 70 percent of their original size. This style falls into the full-bodied category.

• Honjozo (Brewer’s Alcohol) – With the same polishing level as Junmai (in which adding alcohol is not allowed), a small amount of distilled alcohol is added to give the sake a little oomph.

• Genshu (Cask Strength) – When sake is not diluted to around 15-17 percent alcohol by volume, it is called Genshu. This sake falls into the full-bodied category. It’s sake, but with a kick!

• Nigori (Cloudy, milky, roughly filtered) – A very popular style of sake. All sake comes out milky and cloudy after brewing. This style is roughly filtered, allowing some rice dust or particles to remain.

Reprinted with permission from Southern Wine & Spirits' 2009 UNLVino Wine Lover's Guide.

Share This