Sake - 日本酒 (part 2 of several)

Not just to accompany food. Sake aperitifs are a thing too.

This is part 2 of a series. As I said in part 1, I realize that if I put everything I want to in one post it will be the size of a book. As usual this post is better read in the app or a browser rather than via email

Aperitif - Tamazakura Ricky (玉櫻　米リッキー) sake + soda water and a touch of citrus on the rocks

Part one gave you the terminology to help you ask for more interesting sorts of sake. In this part we’ll talk about how to enjoy just a glass of sake on it’s own as an aperitif or similar - this is perfect for a hot summer afternoon/evening as we are experiencing as I wrote this. This sort of thing is something that sake makers are trying to see if they can broaden the appeal of sake and, in my opinion, it mostly works.

Sake as an Aperitif/Cocktail

There’s nothing stopping you mixing any sake with a little soda water and a few ice cubes but some sake is better this way than others. Many of these are cloudy sakes - either nigori or doburoku - but there are (see photo at the start) some clear sakes that also work well this way.

The sake pictured above, Ricky (米リッキー), from probably my favorite Sakagura ( Tamazakura - 玉櫻), is one of a number of sakes in recent years that use different yeasts and the like to regular sake. This gives them quite different flavors and these different flavors work really well in a carbonated setting. The first sake I had like this was Tsuchigumo ( 土雲/つちぐも) sake from Tenon, one of the local Izumo kuras, but my understanding is that Tenon made this as a one off and may not make it again¹. Though they do have another similar “sauvage” sake that I believe is available.

Tenon Tsuchigumo and Sakeru wild yeast sakes

Although Ricky is also mostly sold out for this year (I bought a big 1.8L bottle of it last week that was one of the last couple at my local liquor store), my understanding is that Tamazakura will be doing it again and possibly making more of it next year. If you find other sakes of this sort (they may mention being sour or using wild yeasts if they don’t explicitly say designed to be mixed) I recommend them as an aperitif mixed with soda. A squeeze of lemon/lime/yuzu or similar is optional but often good.

Up in Iwate there’s a kura called nondo that does a number of interesting sakes in this general vein. I’ve drunk them straight as an aperitif, but I can certainly see them also working as a post-prandial digestif too as well as being mixed with soda

Nondo Peat served at Ponkotsu Cafe, Morioka

Talking of sakes made with non-standard yeasts etc. Kumezakura shuzo (久米桜酒造 ) in Hoki, Tottori brews a nigori sake that has a taste rather like Calpis². It’s called Calshis (カルシス) and is excellent on the rocks either straight or with a little soda water.

Kumezaukra Kalshis

That leads us neatly on to the simple nigori-tansan drink, which is just nigori sake, soda water and optionally ice. Almost any thickish nigori sake works and, with soda water (tansan), it is fine if the sake is on the sweet side, which many nigori sakes are.

Nigori tansan at the excellent Kan no Miho in Osaka

You can also do a nigori tonic, rather like a gin and tonic. But for this you really need

1. Good not too sweet tonic (e.g. fever tree)

2. Ideally dry (karakuchi 辛口) nigori sake

3. A touch of citrus

Nigori Tonic at our local Konkichido

Mind you that’s my taste as a person who is not that keen on sweet drinks. If you have a sweeter tooth you may be more tolerant of sweeter tonics, sakes and so on.

My feeling is that the cloudiness is a major reason why these drinks work which leads to the obvious next question (if you are a sake aficionado) - how about doburoku?

The toji of Fukumitsu Shuzo preparing to give us various “dobutan” (doburoku tansan) drinks

I’m pleased to report that doburoku works great for this ( Jim in Alaska should experiment with his homebrews :) ) We had a tasting session last year with Fukumitsu Shuzo³ (makers of Asahihikari doburoku) where we tried a variety of mixes. In addition to the standard soda water we tried it with a posh “less sweet” lemonade, I forget the brand and it was still fairly sweet, but was IIRC about 10% lemon juice. That suggests to me that a doburoku tonic will work well if the doburoku is relatively dry.

We also had a doburoku “bloody mary” - 50% tomato juice, 50% doburoku and a dash of hot sauce (Tabasco), which was very good indeed

Doburoku Bloody Mary

I didn’t try it, but someone tried diluting with soda water (so about a third soda water, a third doburoku and a third tomato juice) and reported that this was good too.

Finally.

There’s the sparkling sakes (see previous post). They work just great as an aperitif on their own, just like fizzy wine, but they also work well with a few ice cubes in too.

Tamagawa Icebreaker, a sake designed to be drunk cold or warmed

Now it’s your turn to try something that even many Japanese people don’t do, and have a sake aperitif or cocktail. That’ll keep you going while I write part 3 on Kanzake, which is where sake approaches whiskey or vintage red wine.

1. I know I’m not the only person who has asked them to try again so hopefully they will. There may be a few bottles hanging around here and there, though we finished ours some time ago and have yet to find another in stock anywhere.

2. Happy Birthday 🎂 Calpis! The story of Japan’s most unfortunate beverage name (and the taste of first love)

3. Fukumitsu Shuzo only makes doburoku because it is a kura that was restarted after it closed and the Japanese government won’t give them a license to brew real sake.