There is more to sake than meets the eye. Its crystal clear color discloses nothing of the complex aromas and tastes that can be found when this classic Japanese beverage is sniffed and sipped.
Often called a wine, sake is actually a beer because it is made from a grain–rice. It also has about twice the alcohol of table wine. It has less than half the alcohol of most distilled spirits, however.
Japanese restaurants routinely offer sake. But the bland, slightly sweet drink they serve, usually warm, is–like jug wine–but the base of an iceberg. Status-conscious Japanese have gently been attempting to convince Americans that the high-quality, limited-production sakes they drink chilled have as many flavor nuances as single-malt Scotch or Cognac.
Because of the small amounts available and their high cost, many of the microbrewed sakes are not widely distributed in Japan, much less in the United States. Even well-stocked liquor stores are likely to carry only mass-market brands.
Sakes are categorized into four types: “light and smooth” (mild aroma and taste), “flavorful” (refreshing to taste, often with aromas of fruits and flowers), “aged” (earth flavors and aromas such as dried fruits, scented wood and mushrooms) and “rich” (mouth-filling, complex and bittersweet.) Most brewers will make two or more types.
However, Kaz Takita, general manager of the Hotel Nikko here, has collected an impressive selection and gone a step farther. Not only does the Nikko’s Benkay restaurant have a sake bar with more than 20 of these premium sakes, but a chef also is on hand to provide appetizer portions of foods to match the various types.
Therefore, a sake in the “flavorful” category will be paired with grilled mild fin fish or a seafood gratin. “Light and smooth” sake is a good companion for raw oysters or a vegetable terrine. “Aged” sake is recommended with lamb steak, roast duck or broiled salmon. “Rich” sake goes with rich meats such as steak or sukiyaki.
Call this Takita’s tapas, if you will. The Hotel Nikko management clearly hopes to catch the wave of taste-curiosity that has led Americans to compare beer, Scotch, wine and cigars in restaurants and wine bars.
At Benkay, sakes are $7.60 to $22.50 a glass, and the sake-friendly appetizers–including memorable grilled lamb chops and salted shrimp–are $3 to $7.
During a well-attended tasting to celebrate the opening of the sake bar this spring, owners of the 16 breweries that make up the Japanese Prestige Sake Association poured samples of their products.
Making sake is an ancient process, they say. (Three of the association’s breweries trace their history back to the 17th Century.) As with the boutique wineries and microbreweries in the United States, these Japanese producers make limited quantities of high-quality beverages that are more distinctive (and more expensive) than those that are mass-produced.
Some of the elements in making sake are similar to making whiskey and others are similar to making wine. The steps seem simple, if labor-intensive, but great complexity in aroma and taste can be obtained.
As with grapes, the type and quality of the rice is all-important.
First the rice is polished so only the starchy kernel is left. (How carefully and completely this is done is key to the quality of the finished sake.) Some rice is then washed, steeped in warm water and steamed.
Second, enzymes called koji, which convert starch to sugar, are sprayed over the rice, which is kept warm, kneaded and dried as a mold grows. This takes about two days.
Third, the koji is combined with iron-free water, then with untreated rice and yeast to form a seed mash called moto.
Fourth, the moto is mixed with more rice and water and undergoes a fermentation that takes nearly a month.
The process is completed by squeezing the clear sake from the mash. It then may be blended or aged and pasteurized.
In a restaurant, you drink sake, either hot or cold, from a glass, a masu (wooden box), or a small cup (sakazuki). A few names to try at Benkay include: Masumi Tokubetsu Junmai Karakuchi Kiippon, Suishin Junmai-Ginjo Tenjomukyu, Kaika Junmai Ginjo Kazeno Ichirin, Naruto Dail Yamahai Daiginjo, and Kamoizumi Daiginjo Shizukuzake.
