Need help on Sake

[Mekugi]

Well, I like the Kikkoman cartoon. It makes me feel all weird inside.

Ok....the seals are broken and this is a sign that the end is near. I have some repenting to do....

[Iron Monkey]

Well, I like the Kikkoman cartoon. It makes me feel all weird inside.

does it give you a series buzz?

[Abbax8]

Alright I just searched online and the Trader Joe's in my area do not sell alcohol. I have looked online and found the first that I spot in the store. It is called Fu-Ki Sake and I have found a website where I can order it. I think I will get it from the store first and try it. Have anyone ever had Fu-Ki Sake?

Link:
http://www.internetwines.com

I have a bottle of Fuki Sake and Fuki Plum Wine on my liquor cabinet. I enjoy both. I think they are not considered top shelf but that is what is available in the PA. State stores.

Dennis

[David Craik]

does it give you a series buzz?

Maybe. If I knew what a 'series buzz' was I could answer with more conviction. Sounds fun, though.

[Sorros]

I like it cold.

[Iron Monkey]

Maybe. If I knew what a 'series buzz' was I could answer with more conviction. Sounds fun, though.

Ah series buzz means tore up a little or maybe tipsy. Meaning do you start to feel the alcohol a little or a lot.

[Iron Monkey]

I know the KIKKOMAN had me feeling relaxed.

[Mekugi]

I know the KIKKOMAN had me feeling relaxed.

So does Hemlock....

[David Craik]

Ah series buzz means tore up a little or maybe tipsy. Meaning do you start to feel the alcohol a little or a lot.

Oh, perhaps serious buzz. Maybe if I drank an entire bottle within the span of an hour or so. It takes quite a bit to tear me up; many years of practice. In my house a 12-pack is referred to as 'a beer'.

To be honest, I never even knew Kikkoman made sake. I was talking about the weird cartoon ad.

[Don Roley]

My favorite style is at room temperature in a little wooden box called a "masu" made of Hinoki wood. You can get the glasses/boxes in Japan. They eventually mildew, but the scent of the wood enhances the taste IMO.

[Webmaster]

Well, I like the Kikkoman cartoon. It makes me feel all weird inside.

I think that most Japanese cartoons were done by those on serious acid trips. Most of the time I just go away wondering if watching them will cause brain damage.

[shinbushi]

Here is a great book on Sake written by a Gaijin and ex-Bujinkan The Sake Handbook
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/080...IN=0804834253"
I helped with the research :-)

[De_Franza]

I liked this book.
It's informative but small, so it feels accessible.

Like others have said, the better sakes are served room temp or cool, never cold or hot. (There are good hot ones, IMO, but the best ones are never heated). (the hot ones seem to give you a buzz faster... it's probably a placebo effect, but many believe the heat makes the alcohol enter your blood faster... anyone got any science on this?)

It sounds geeky, but take notes and get familiar with the ones you like.
I totally want sake now.

Aside: Someone help me say it correctly... there's "sake" the beverage and "sake" the salmon sushi.... how are these pronounced? is it even possible to explain in a post?

http://www.amazon.com/Sak%C3%A9-Pure...4180475&sr=1-7

[David Craik]

Aside: Someone help me say it correctly... there's "sake" the beverage and "sake" the salmon sushi.... how are these pronounced? is it even possible to explain in a post?

A little difference in intonation; salmon is SA-kay whereas rice wine is sa-KAY.

http://wineintro.com/sake/audio/sk_sake.wav

[Mekugi]

I always say Sake for the drink, then I do a "SSh" slide for salmon by saying S-ha-ke. It seems that is how we do it down here in Chubu with our "crusty-man-child" accent. The honorific is also use for salmon (o'sake)....kids do that a lot because, well, they have developing to do linguistically and can't make the difference heard. Little kids also put the SH in there too...actually it's very cute. Kawaii deshu neh!

A little difference in intonation; salmon is SA-kay whereas rice wine is sa-KAY.

http://wineintro.com/sake/audio/sk_sake.wav

There is actually a stop and an elongated "ah" vowel in the middle when saying salmon properly and not using the sneaky Chubu slide to compensate: "S-ah-ke" or "Saah-ke". That dude has a continental or "Kanto" accent IMHO which is awesome if you want to talk like a girl (and look cool doing it) .

For the drink, there's no stop or elongated vowel in the middle.. "Sa-ke"

[Mekugi]

Like others have said, the better sakes are served room temp or cool, never cold or hot. (There are good hot ones, IMO, but the best ones are never heated).

My feelings on this have really changed over the years. Namely, because I believe that certain types of sake taste better warmed and others taste better cold or even served on crushed ice. This is a matter of gastronomical chemistry and to me it takes less art to drink it, more art to make it. The thing one must remember about Japan at all times is essentially this: the Japanese like rules. They make tea into a extremely long, drawn out and seemingly pointless practice, (I guess court people were bored because they were essentially useless, so wasting 45 minutes on a cup of tea that only tastes as good as the purity of the water, brewing temperature and the grind of the tea seems ok). Even if the rules are asinine, they must have them to follow (well, some like it that way). This is changing a lot now and there are still some who cling to the "wafu" tastes when there is no need for it...which to me is usually bland and totally a waste of time as there is no point to it. That being said, usually if you are going to use sake for a mixed drink...cold is going to be the way to go. In the summer I like to cut my sake with ice, just because room temperature is not exactly refreshing and tends to make me, well, urpy.

So my point is...experiment and find out what you like. There are ABSOLUTELY NO RULES to the way one drinks sake, no matter what anyone says (including the Japanese, ya'all) and frankly rules can take all the fun out of it. There are some traditionally yummy ideas like the Cypress "box" that Don mentioned, which is celebratory and usually used at new years (that is actually very tasty, I have a small collection); one tradition that is popular down here in Kuwana is to serve sake out of a freshly cut bamboo stalk, which adds a woody, stalky flavor to it. That's a big summer treat, and it is what I usually do every year at a horribly non-traditional family barbecue that I put on (oh man....that sounds good). Another thing I like to do is make my sake "dirty" with pickled plum juice, sometimes mix it with some sea-salt (brine) or with some shiso "juice". It mixes it up a bit and to me, many times it tastes less like rubbing alcohol and helps more than hurts.

I actually like Okinawan Aomori more than I like sake. Maybe that's because I love Okinawa....

[tgace334]

I sympathized that they were unable to taste a little bit of home and Someya interjected, "Oh we still drank it. It may have been yellow, horrible sake but it was still sake!"

Classsic.