Sake

How is Sake made?

Sake production starts with polishing rice grains to remove the outer layers, leaving behind the starchy core that will become alcohol through a unique fermentation process. The polished rice gets steamed, then inoculated with koji spores (a special mold) that breaks down the starches into sugars while yeast simultaneously converts those sugars into alcohol—a parallel fermentation that's different from beer or wine making. After fermenting for about a month, the mixture gets pressed to separate the liquid from the solids, filtered, and often pasteurized before bottling.

How do you drink Sake?

Sake is traditionally enjoyed neat, either chilled or gently warmed depending on the style and quality—premium junmai and daiginjo varieties shine when served cold, while some earthier styles benefit from gentle warming to around 104°F. You'll rarely see sake served on the rocks or as shots in traditional settings, though modern bartenders have embraced it in cocktails where its clean, rice-forward character plays beautifully with citrus, elderflower, and light fruits. Sake cocktails work particularly well as aperitifs or paired with Japanese cuisine, and they're perfect for spring and summer sipping when you want something refreshing but more complex than wine.

How do I choose a good Sake?

Start by understanding the basic styles—junmai offers pure rice flavors, while honjozo brings lighter, more approachable notes thanks to a touch of distilled alcohol. For cocktails, reach for a junmai or junmai ginjo since their robust character won't disappear when mixed with other ingredients, while delicate daiginjos work better on their own where you can appreciate their refined complexity. Consider the temperature too: if you're making hot toddies or warm cocktails, choose a sake that tastes good heated, but for refreshing summer drinks, pick something crisp that shines when chilled.

Nutritional Information

Typical Calorie Range per Ounce: 35-45 calories

Typical Carbohydrate Range per Ounce: 1.5-4 grams

Typical Sugar Range per Ounce: 0-2 grams

Typically Gluten Free: Yes

Note: While sake is made from rice and is naturally gluten-free, production methods and additives can vary between brands. Always check the specific product label and manufacturer information to confirm gluten-free status, especially if you have celiac disease or severe gluten sensitivity.

Scrolled this far? Your reward? Sake Trivia!

1. Sake can be stronger than most wine, but weaker than you think. While people assume sake is like vodka or whiskey, it actually clocks in around 15-20% alcohol by volume – similar to a fortified wine. The confusion comes from those tiny ceramic cups (ochoko) that make every sip feel more concentrated than it really is.
2. The "rice wine" label is completely wrong – sake is actually beer's distant cousin. Wine comes from fermented fruit sugars, but sake requires a brewing process where rice starches get converted to sugars first, then fermented. This two-step dance makes sake technically more like beer than wine, despite tasting nothing like your Friday night lager.
3. Premium sake gets better when you ignore the "serve it warm" rule. Heating sake was actually a way to mask the harsh flavors of cheap, low-quality bottles. The good stuff – junmai, ginjo, and daiginjo grades – should be served chilled to preserve their delicate, floral notes that disappear when heated.
4. Sake brewers polish away up to 77% of each rice grain for their top-shelf bottles. That expensive daiginjo isn't just fancy marketing – the rice gets milled down until only 23% of the original grain remains. All those outer layers contain proteins and fats that would create off-flavors, so they literally grind them away to reach the pure starchy core.
5. Traditional sake brewing relies on a mysterious mold called koji that's been domesticated for over 1,000 years. This isn't wild fermentation – Japanese brewers cultivate Aspergillus oryzae like a pet, carefully controlling temperature and humidity to make the mold break down rice starches into fermentable sugars. Each brewery guards their koji strains like family heirlooms.