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Sake 101: How to Choose a Sake for Every Taste

By Serena Dai | November 21, 2014 7:42am | Updated on November 21, 2014 6:39pm
 Cherry Izakaya, located at 138 N. Eighth St., is doing "Sake Sundays," where the resident sake expert will give Sake 101 experts and offer rare sakes to try.
Sake 101 at Cherry Izakaya
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WILLIAMSBURG — Ditch the idea of sake bombs — sipping sake can be as complex and varied as the experience of slowly savoring fine wines.

Sake's popularity is still low compared to wine, with 2.55 million cases sold in 2011 compared to 216 million cases of wine sold in the same year from California alone.

But the boozy beverage fermented from rice is a natural, sulfite-free, "hangover-free alcohol" that people can learn to love, said Chris Johnson, a sake sommelier at Cherry Izakaya who started hosting Sunday "Sake 101" classes this week.

Johnson, who's been certified as a sake sommelier by the Sake Service Institute, hosts the "Sake Sundays" at the Williamsburg restaurant at 138 N. Eighth St.

As long as you're not drinking copious amounts, you'll be able to go to work Monday "bright-eyed and bushy-tailed," Johnson said.

"You can have a fun Sunday without feeling guilty," he said.

Cherry Izakaya will be offering flights of sake for $18 all day, along with a half-hour lesson on sake at 7 p.m. Each week, Johnson will offer a different flight and special, rare samples.

He sat down with DNAinfo New York to offer advice on starting points for the inexperienced.

For Novices Who Aren't Sure What Sake Tastes Like

The uninitiated may want to ask for an unpasteurized sake like Kikusui Funaguchi Jukusei, a can with two glasses-worth of sake.

Most sakes are pasteurized to extend shelf life and those that aren't tend to have "very bright and impactful" flavors that are "easier to understand," Johnson said. The taste is full blast with fruity flavor, rather than nuanced.

"It's not so delicate and ethereal," he said. "It's 'Hey! I'm melon.'"

Kikusui Funaguchi Jukusei in particular is also a "cask strength" sake, meaning that water is not added to dilute the beverage. It is 19 percent alcohol.

Pair with: Fattier foods like tempura, Japanese fried chicken (karaage), yellowtail belly and salmon belly. The higher alcohol content will help balance the fattiness.

For Lovers of a Dry, Earthy Red Wine

No sake will match red wine exactly, but folks who like the earthiness of red wine might prefer the earthy taste of "junmae" sakes like Masumi Okuden.

Junmae refers to a type of sake for which the rice is polished down to at least 70 percent of its original size, which represents the least-polished of sakes. Though junmae sakes vary in taste, sakes in the category tend to be less sweet and more earthy with mineral undertones, Johnson said.

"I can’t match your red wine experience," he said, "but I’m matching your palette."

Pair with: Simple sashimis with a bit of soy sauce, curry dishes, grilled foods. 

For Pinot Grigio Lovers (And for Easy Drinking)

Diners looking for a smooth, easy-drinking sake might want to pick a "ginjo," for which the rice has been polished down more than with "junmae" sakes.

Polishing the rice more makes the sake taste "lighter, brighter," Johnson said, adding sweeter, floral notes that give it similar flavor profiles to pinot grigio or riesling wine.

Of course, sakes differ even within the ginjo category. Differences in water, yeast and fermentation time can all impact the flavor, even when the rice is the same, Johnson said.

Hakkaisan sake, for example, is fruitier, with a hint of pear and melon, while Kaori sake is "sharper and colder" on the palette, Johnson said. Kokuryu sake, meanwhile, has a more intense melon flavor.

But, Johnson said, "all three of those are very easy to drink."

"It's like, 'This isn't offensive'," he said. "Ginjo is easier for people to go, 'Oh, that's not what I expected. That is nice.'"

Pair with: spicy dishes, though the versatile drink can go with a variety of foods

For the Aspiring Sake Expert

The most expensive version of sake is the "daiginjo," for which the rice is polished down to below 50 percent of its original size. It takes more labor to create this kind due to how small the rice kernels need to get. By the end, sake brewers must hand-polish the rice, Johnson said.

The result, though, is a more "elegant" sake that takes at least three sips to fully appreciate the range of flavors, Johnson said.

"It's nice and delicate and super smooth," he said. "It gives you more to wrap your head around. That's why it's a little bit more expensive."

First-time sake drinkers can enjoy the daiginjo, but the nuances of sakes like Tenryo Koshu will be more appreciated if drinkers build up to it from the previous ones on this list, Johnson said.

"With sake, you gotta dig a little deeper," he said.

Pair with: Lighter foods like sushi, sashimi and steamed fish. Avoid dishes with super strong flavors, which will overpower the flavor of the sake.