1) Consistent Temperature

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While it's always good to put sake in the fridge for proper storage, it's not always necessary. Most sake are okay with a consistent room temperature (exception: nama should always be fridged). What's important here is consistency. Sake hates drastic temperature change, as such, kitchen area near the stove should be avoided.

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2) Stay away from the light

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This includes everything from the sun to those long humming tubes of florescent light. Although it won’t happen as quickly, sake that is stored in an environment with florescent lights will change color and flavor in the long run. This is the reason why most sake is packaged in dark bottles – it is an easy way to protect the sake from light exposure.

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3) Keep your sake bottle upright

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Opposite of the wine world where you need to keep bottles on their sides to keep the cork wet, sake can be stored upright without a problem. Yet, if you would like to be really particular, keep the sake from touching the bottom of the cap for lengthy aging period.

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4) Stay away from products like these

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Do not put sake near vibrating instruments (such as washing and drying machines) or non-food items such as detergents or body soap/ shampoo.   

 

5) Standard bottles life

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Most of the time, sake is the best when consumed fresh. For most sake, the toji created them in a way that they want you to taste its fresh style. Given the proper storage, most sake should be consumed within 1 year after released by the breweries. Of course, Koshu (古酒) is an exception as it's created to be consumed after aged and oxidised for awhile.

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6) Exceptions: Name style of sake

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Name sake (non-pasteurised) or name zume/ name chozō-shu (pasteurised-once) as opposed to the regular pasteurised-twice sake, should be treated with more care. In short, they should always be refrigerated and consumed more timely after it's released from the brewery.

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7) Unfinished opened bottles

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Unfinished bottles should always be stored in the fridge. You can pour the remaining sake in a smaller bottle for easier storage. Opened sake, even stored in the fridge should be consumed within a week. Otherwise, although sake is unlikely to turn bad due to their higher alcoholic level, the aroma and tasting profile will be very much different from what the toji would like it to be originally.

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