Tips on how to order sake

You're in a restaurant and you've been presented with the sake list. Guess what? It's probably like no other list you've ever seen and that's because there's no uniformity in lists. Unlike wine, where most lists have the vintage year, varietal and brand name, sake lists rarely have a vintage year (though you can often find it on the label) and you may find the brand name or brewery and also a proper name and sometimes the region where the sake originates. At Kabuki in Hollywood (above), I tasted a sake sampler--the little card below comes with tasting notes--a good intro to a sake list.

You'll find some very useful tips here from San Francisco writer Tom Gray on how to order sake in a restaurant.  He suggests ordering Japanese sake over domestic, cold over hot (in a wine glass please!), no nigori (cloudy, roughly filtered sake) and Junmai ginjo which he thinks are the most wine like. All good tips.

Six things to know before ordering sake: Comes from Rory Moulton who also discusses nigori, he reminds not to pour your own sake, cold sake is best and avoid sake bombs!

Sake at LAMill Coffee Silver Lake

Kikusui Junmai Gingo: clean, crisp with a touch of citrus and a most elegant presentation at LAMill Coffee in Silver Lake (Los Angeles). Pair with LAMill's jidori chicken. Sake glasses are perched on small pedestals; sake is served from a carafe with a small ice pocket.

LAMill Coffee
1636 Silver Lake Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90026
(323) 663-4441

Japanese Sake from Trader Joe's: Junmai Ginjo Sake by Oimatsu Shuzo

Thanks to Trader Joe's you can try a very approachable, middle-ground premium sake for approximately $10. Some nice tasting notes from rateabeer. Their consensus: the sake is slightly floral, fruity and very drinkable. Sake is from the Oimatsu Shuzo Co. in Hita, Japan (on Japan's Southernmost island). The SMV (sake meter value) is +3 so medium dry and 45% of rice polished away.







If you look on the lower left hand corner of the label, you will find a date that indicates when the sake was bottled.  (09.09 above) The one I served on Valentine's Day was bottled September 2009; you should try to drink sake within six months and definitely within the year.  If it's over a year old, serve it slightly warmed.  I paired it with a miso-marinated cod, grilled shrimp and teriyaki chicken.

Sake Education from Wine Library TV

Gary Vaynerchuk at Wine Library TV has boundless energy and and real enthusiasm and passion for wine. In these two episode from June 2009, he puts the spotlight on sake as he interviews Sake Social/True Sake's Beau Timken (above) on the basics of sake drinking and production. There is a wealth of information in these segments: Sake education part 1 and Sake education part 2.

Vaynerchuk mentions he's a fan of sake and one of his favorite places to imbibe is Blue Ribbon in Manhattan where he often tries three or four sakes during a meal. (Lucky guy: I've wanted to check that place out on Columbus Circle). Among the fun facts: sake is "built like beer but drinks like wine," from Timken--a very succinct description. Together they taste some sake including a Joto Chikurin Fukamari Junmai; Timken advises the vernacular of wine is appropriate when discussing sake's flavors and aromas.

Wine glasses vs. ceramic cups: definitely drink premium sake with glass or crystal--only use the ceramic cups when sake is warm as smaller ceramic cups (ochoko) don't reveal its aromas or capture its essence. One very useful tip: drink sake within 15 to 18 months of its brew date (found on the label--but that's another post). If it's past 18 months or so, heat it and drink it warm. Thanks guys. Good stuff.

Meet the brewer: Miho Imada of Fukucho Sake Brewery

I was able to further my sake education while tasting many brands at Mutual Trading Company's annual Japanese food and restaurant show held in its downtown parking lot. While not the most glamourous tasting room, the main benefit was meeting many visiting brewers (toji) and brewery owners from Japan. Above is Miho Imada of Fukucho Sake Brewery located in the Hiroshima prefecture. One of only 20 woman brewers in Japan, she began her career in the brewery more than 15 years ago and became a master brewer five years ago. She's holding Fukocho's Junmai Ginjo Biho, made from yamadanishiki rice. The sake is very delicate with a very nice flowery finish---Fukocho's sakes are pasteurized in the bottle helping maintain aroma and flavor. She begins brewing Oct. 17.

Happy National Sake Day! Oct. 1st

A new holiday to celebrate: National Sake Day! Japan celebrates today as the annual sake brewing process is well underway. Above is Otokoyama's "Yukishibare" sake from Hokkaido. I got this sake @ True Sake in San Francisco (thanks Beau!). He recommended it as I prefer very dry sake; this junmai sake is very smooth with a slight effervescence. The brewery was established in 1661, almost 350 years ago.

Sake Tastings: Drink:Eat:Play's Sake social at Gonpachi 9/26

$30 for unlimited samplings of 75 sakes--that's Drink:Eat:Play's program for Saturday night at Gonpachi. A little overkill perhaps--but certainly the way to learn what sake to try later. I'm a fan of Gonpachi--the restaurant was built at great expense, with many of the building materials imported from Japan as were the craftsmen who built it. A lovely chisen kaiyu shiki (loosely translated "water scrolling")--a Japanese garden complete with koi pond and maple trees--is at the entrance. There are many other authentic details from the Japanese cedar beams to the Shoji screens to the dramatic sumiyaki bar. House made soba noodles and the extensive sake list--including a house sake--are worth a look. Go soon as the restaurant is reportedly on the market.