How to serve sake?
to bring out the best in sake
Whether you are enjoying sake as a me-time drink, or a food drink, or a social drink...(there can be a lot more other possibilities), learn a few tricks to serve your sake to bring out the best in it! Again, there's no absolute right or wrong, there are just many rules of thumbs.
sake & serving temperature
First thing first, sake (unlike most other alcoholic beverage), has a wide range of serving temperature. From icy cold right from the fridge, to warm and heated, sake wouldn't say an absolute no. However, it is also very sensitive to temperature- you can spot subtle changes to the aroma and palate of the sake as you move up and down the temperature spectrum. While you can be a bit adventurous to explore this, let's learn about the basic rule of thumb.
1) Cold (5°C-15°C) - right from the fridge
Serving sake chilled and cold can bring out to crispness and freshness in sake. You can sense more acidity but less sweetness on your palate. Therefore, when you think that some sake is too flat and sweet, try chilling it! However, at this cold temperature, some aroma of the sake might be masked.
Best with: Sparkling sake and fresh sake (e.g. Honjozo)
2) Room (20°C-25°C)- Room temperature
At room temperature, the aroma of the sake is at its peak. For the aromatic sake such as Ginjo/ Daiginjo, if you find their aroma not as obvious as it should be, it's a sign telling you that it might be over-chilled. Bring it back to 20°C-25°C, you will find the fruitiness and ginjo aroma a lot more expressive.
Best with: Aromatic sake (e.g. Ginjo/ Daiginjo)
3) Hot (35°C-55°C)
In general, the right level of heat can bring out the sweetness and umami of the sake. However, the delicate aroma might be loss at this serving temperature spectrum.
Best with: Rich and full sake (e.g. Junmai/ Kimoto/ Yamahai) and Matured sake (i.e. koshu)
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how to heat sake?
Please do not heat up sake directly!
Please do not heat up sake directly!
Please do not heat up sake directly!
All important messages should be repeated at least for 3 times :)
The right way is to pour sake into the Tokkuri and immerse it in hot water for 2-3 minutes until the sake reaches desirable temperature.
When you are choosing the right cup to serve your sake, you can consider: material, shape and thickness of the rim.
1) AROMATIC: since it's often served slightly chilled, it's a good idea to use glassware, with an wide opened shape to bring out the aromas of the sake
2) FRESH: this can be the light and fresh style, and also the sparkling style. Often served cold, it's good to use glassware with thin rim to bring out the light and fresh mouthfeel
3) RICH: full bodied and rich-in-umami, it can be served chilled or warm. Ceramic with thick rim will be the best to emphasis its smooth mouthfeel
4) MATURED: this can be served chilled or warm. Served chilled, you can try to serve this with a brandy glass, usually in small amount. Served hot, ceramic and tin will be a good option
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