Inamorata, Her Name Is Sake

​Saké.  This slightly mysterious and formidable beverage is often misunderstood to most American consumers.  The name itself springs to mind visions of Japanese Hibachi steak houses with carafés of hot, weird-beverages that give your insides a cozy place by the fire, but the subsequent drunk is excessively harsh.  Yet as I become more-and-more fascinated by this beverage, the more I come to understand how intricate, how pairable, how incredible it is.  And while my love affair is still gestating, the real romance has only been a few months in the making.

A recent visit from Chris Johnson (aka The Saké Ninja) and several amazing (yet more high-end) sakés rekindled a slightly dormant attraction for this elixir.  Chris, who I’d worked with on the other side of the river, told me of a documentary about saké called Kampai! For the Love of Saké, which features American saké evangelist John Gautner, British-born saké master brewer Philip Harper, as well as Japanese saké luminaries Kosuke Kuji and Daisuke Suzuki, was sort of the catalyst I needed to go from (metaphorically) wanting to ask a woman out to actually picking up the phone and calling her.

To digress a bit, saké is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented rice that has been milled down (polished) to remove the bran components.  While often referred to as wine, it has more in common with beer, as saké makers are called brewers (the head brewer is called the Toji), and saké itself is comprised of 4 ingredients – rice, water, yeast and koji (rice that has been cultivated with mold spores that help turn the rice into sugars and create the fermentation process; without the koji there is no saké).  There are a great number of terms used to distinguish the different types of sake:

• Futsu-shu – You could say this is the equivalent to saying “table wine.”  
• Tokutei-meishō-shu – Special designate saké.

The special designations include:

• Junmai Daiginjō-shu – The highest quality of saké, milled below 50%, with no distilled spirit added.
• Daiginjō-shu – The step below Junmai Daiginjō-shu, milled below 50%, yet with distilled spirit added (the weight of the added distillate must be no more than 10% the weight of the rice after polishing).
• Junmai Ginjō-shu – Rice milled below 60% with no distilled spirit added.
• Ginjō-shu – Milled below 60% but with distilled spirit added (again, the weight of the added distillate must be no more than 10% of the weight of the rice after polishing).
• Tokubetsu Junmai-shu – Tokubetsu is a distinct way of making saké using rice stalks that bring unique flavors and aromas to the process. Milled below 60%, with no distilled spirit added.
• Tokubetsu Honjōzō-shu – Milled below 60% with added distilled spirit (again, no more than 10% the weight of the polished rice).
• Junmai-shu – Milled rice is below 70% with no added distillate.
• Honjōzō-shu – Milled rice below 70% with added distillate (no more than 10% of the weight of the polished rice).

So beginning back at the beginning of March, I was introduced via Skype to Jonathan Edwards, the saké guru for importer Vine Connections.  It was a brief introduction – plagued a bit by technical difficulties – but another eye-opening introduction nonetheless.  We tasted 3 amazing sakés in the rapid-fire, 15 minute session, which led to an epiphany of sorts (I’ll get to that in a minute).

Fast-forward to this past week, when I met Jonathan live and in-person when he came to our Eastgate store and we did a bit more extensive look at saké:

• Tozai Blossoms of Peace Plum Saké.  So this is actually plums (aodani plums to be precise) soaked in saké for 3 months.  A BIG step-up from simple plum wine, this is slightly nutty, with orchard fruit and mineral in a bright, tart context.

• Tozai Well of Wisdom Ginjō-shu.  My epiphany began here, where our friends at Red Sesame (a Korean BBQ joint in the front entrance to our Eastgate store) have been on my mind lately.  Concocting a tasting that will involve their food, my mind was led to this saké thanks to Jonathan Edwards’ unintended prodding.  The melon and pepper notes here conjure a great pairing with BBQ – and Red Sesame’s Korean BBQ would be ideal here.

• Nanbu Bijin Southern Beauty Junmai Ginjō-shu.  Crafted by one of the stars of the aforementioned Kampai documentary, Koshuke Kuji, this takes on a bit of Moscato in the nose with lots of stone fruit and light spices.  This would be a terrific vegetarian pairing, as well as something to go with raw bar offerings like oysters and clams on the half-shell.

• Rihaku Wandering Poet Junmai Ginjō-shu.  I think it was here we spoke of this particular saké being very pairable with tough pairings like asparagus and brussel sprouts.  Would be great with soft cheeses too.  My affinity for this one had a lot to do with the name though.  Stunning beverage, with its sublime herbaceousness and notes of melon and plantain.

• Kaetsu Bride of the Fox Junmai Ginjō-shu.  I believe the nuances of cocoa nibs were discussed here, as it showed hints of baker’s chocolate and roasted nuts.  A more savory saké that would lend itself well to steak or pork chops off the grill.

• Rihaku Dance of Discovery Junmai-shu.  A really savory saké firing up elements of hickory smoke, soy sauce and roasted malts.  Roasted game, lamb shanks or steak might do well with this one in your glass.

• Mioya Rhythm of the Centuries Kimoto Junmai-shu.  Kimoto Junmai-shu is a special Junmai sake in which a “starter mash” has been created by hand-mashing the rice, water and yeast together before the actual process.  It’s exceptionally labor-intensive and is almost non-existent today.  This is a beautifully-made, remarkably complex saké with elements of exotic citrus, herb and tea leaf notes and a vast array of umami.  A good ol’ fashioned stir-fry would make for a great gustatory partner here.

• Tentaka Hawk in the Heavens  Junmai-shu.  Earthy and nutty are the characters front-and-center here.  Smoky too.  When Jonathan mentioned pairing this with cigars, another light bulb went off in our heads.  Risotto, BBQ, big hearty meals with this would be glorious.

• Mantensei Star-Filled Sky Junmai Ginjō-shu.  Honey and orchard fruit are on display here in this beautifully-made saké.  I used the term before but in my lovelorn state these days, it bears constant repeating.
• Imada Fukocho Moon on the Water Junmai Ginjō-shu.  Lime, anise, cantaloupe and honeydew spring to mind in this delicious, delectable saké.  A bit of deja-vu in that this was how Jonathan finished the Skype tasting and this one.  This probably would be my desert island beverage of choice (particularly if the bourbon had gone overboard), as it has become the exclamation point to this infatuation I’ve begun.

Particular thanks to Jonathan Edwards of Vine Connections, Chris Johnson (the Saké Ninja) of Word Sake Imports, Cutting Edge Selections and director Mirai Konishi and the producers of the film Kampai! For the Love of Saké for germinating this newfound love of the beverage I spent too many wasted years misunderstanding and maligning and have now discovered to be the newest object of my strange and brooding affection.

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