O-toso: New Year's Sake – A drink on the day keeps the doctor away     It is a rare occasion and ceremony that does not include some sake in Japan, and that harbinger of renewal, New Year’s Day, is no exception. Although sake figures prominently in O-shogatsu (New Year’s) celebrations from morning to night, opening the year with a prayer for health in the form of drinking O-toso is perhaps the most interesting.   Just what is O-toso? It’s sake that has been specially prepared by steeping a mixture of herbs in it for several hours. Drinking it with family in ceremonial fashion first thing on New Year’s day is said to ward off sickness for the entire year ahead, as well as invite peace within the household.The tradition of O-toso originally came from China, and originally the mixture consisted of eight herbs. Things have naturally changed slightly over the years, and some of the herbs have changed as a couple in the original concoction were deemed too potent. But most remain true to the original recipe.   Included in the mixture are cinnamon, rhubarb and sanshou (Japanese pepper), as well as a few not commonly seen in the west, like okera (atractylodis rhizome) and kikyou (platycodi radix). It’s stuff you never knew you needed, much less existed.   O-toso was adopted in Japan back in the ninth century during the reign of the Saga Emperor in the Heian era. Back then, on December 19 of each year the herbs were placed in a triangular bag and hung from the branch of a peach tree hanging over water. At four in the morning on New Year’s Day, the herbs were put into sake and steeped for several hours before being partaken...

SAKE: THE SOUL AND SPIRIT OF JAPAN ……..By the Foodies' Foodie, Mora Chartrand-Grant……….. Sake, as ubiquitous as the cherry blossom in spring, is perhaps Japan’s greatest contribution to the beverage world-a national beverage and elixir to many, the drink of the gods, and a virtual unknown and misunderstood beverage to most Americans. But what was once viewed as a pale, nearly flavorless alcoholic beverage has recently been embraced by an adoring American public looking for an alternative to wine or beer. Sake no longer is only found on Japanese restaurant menus. Its most recent incarnation has it holding court among fine wines at upscale, cutting-edge restaurants on both coasts.   Averse to calling sake a trend, I am convinced that it is here to stay. Sake has made its mark and found an audience that is beginning to understand its subtleties of taste, aroma, and regions. It is no longer enough to be knowledgeable about wine ( or even microbrews ), but the true gourmet and epicure now are adding sake to their repertoire. Sake is making inroads into American life at a respectable rate.   So just what is sake and how did it come to play such a leading role in Japan’s culture? Let’s talk about the letter first. Sake has been known since the down of civilization, and more likely since rice was first introduced to Japan from the Asian continent about 2000 years ago. It is an alcoholic beverage produced from rice and brewed much the same way beer is, from barley and wheat. But sake is termed a rice wine because its 16% alcohol content is similar to wine.   The first written record of sake in Japan dates from 300 A.D. Historic archives submit that this sake was...

Diane Durston writes:  There is a song that the sake makers of Fushimi sang as they toiled through the night, stirring fermenting rice with long-handled wooden paddles to prepare the moto, or yeast mash, for the marathon task of making sake, the traditional rice brew of Japan. It tells of a young  man who has wanted  all of his life to be able to work in the great sake breweries of Fushimi.  When his lucky break finally comes and he finds himself toiling throughout the cold winter night over steaming tubs of rice, he has second thoughts. He bemoans the icy mornings when he has to wash the rice and wishes he hadn't been so hasty in his choice of employment. In the end, he muses, his efforts will result in delicious Fushimi sake.–  but there is a touch of irony in his words that implies he'll never be the one to taste it. Since the seventeenth century, the great sake breweries, or kura, of Fushimi  have hired farmers from Echizen and Tango in the north near the Japan Sea to come to Kyoto during their idle winter months to make what was once the sake of samurai. The eldest, most experienced of the workers were known as toji, the master brewers. They brought with them the hard-earned knowledge of generations of sake makers who had spent one hundred days of constant, back-breaking work each year to make Fushimi one of the main centers of sake production in Japan. Although the major sake companies now have ultramodern, factories, elaborately temperature-controlled to produce sake all year round, many of the smaller makers still employ the toji  each year from the same families that have worked in their kura for centuries using the same ancient techniques. Gekkeikan, the makers of the world's best selling sake, haven't forgotten the debt they owe...

Renowned sake expert John Gauntner answers:  At what temperature should you enjoy sake? As with all things sake-related, there is a long answer and short answer. Short Answer: Most good sake should be enjoyed slightly chilled. Cheaper sake is served warm. Long Answer: Indeed, sake was traditionally served warmed. This was related to the fact that sake was, until about  30 or 40 years ago, much, much rougher, fuller, sweeter and woodier than it is now. Warming suited it much better back then. Wooden (cedar) tanks were used for brewing for centuries, slowly being phased out in the early part of the 20th century. Also, before glass bottles, for centuries sake was then stored in wooden casks (also cedar). As such, they took on a tremendously woody flavor and aroma. While this might have been enjoyable, today’s fine fragrances and subtle flavors would be bludgeoned out of existence by such wood (although you can still enjoy such sake today; it is called “taru-zake”). But in the end, one big reason sake was warmed in the old days was that it was woodier and rougher, and warming masked a lot of the less-than-refined aspects. However, about 30 to 40 years ago, things began to change in the sake-brewing world. Brewing technology and the availability of new strains of sake rice (and the equipment to properly handle it) and new pure yeast strains  led to sake with bold and lively taste and fragrance profiles. Much more delicate and fragile sake also came about, with fruit and flowery essences all of a sudden becoming part of the equation. Sake like this would be effectively neutered of the very qualities it was brewed to exude, if heated. Today, sake is brewed in stainless steel, ceramic-lined tanks, and stored...

    John Gauntner writes:  Rice Distribution in the Sake World One of the more idiosyncratic aspects of the sake world is the distribution system via which brewers get their rice. It certainly is not simple, and at one time it probably made sense. Certainly there are many that benefit from it – both brewers and farmers – and others for whom it serves them less. And, of course, there are those that have the means and cleverness to work around it if need be. Let’s look at it a bit more closely.  The place to begin is to realize that sake brewers do not grow their own rice. Fundamentally speaking, since just after World War II, companies, i.e. business entities are not permitted to grow rice. All rice is grown and sold by individual farmers. Business entities are basically not allowed to be involved. Things have changed a little bit recently and there are some exceptions, but basically sake brewers cannot own their own rice fields, or grow their own rice.  Why is this the case? It is to prevent the reconsolidation of farmland. Long ago, owners of huge tracts of land controlled things, rather than the peasants living on it and growing on it. For reasons beyond my comprehension (although my sense of common decency says it’s not cool) this is not a stable situation economically. Regardless of the reasoning, this keeps rice plots spread out and small, with the average being about 1.65 acres, compared to farms typically 160 times that in the US.  This lead to the creation of agricultural cooperatives, about which more could be written than the scope of this newsletter can hope to contain. But in short, local farmers have their rice distributed to the market through...

Steve here: Cooler weather is upon us. What do you suggest for September, John? John Gauntner Nanbu Bijin is a junmai ginjo sake that hails from Iwate prefecture, up north in Tohoku, a region where sake is usually light and crisp and much more fine grained than its big-boned counterparts from western Japan. For decades Nanbu Bijin was brewed by one of the most famous toji (master brewers) in the industry. His retiring a decade ago might have been some cause for concern had he not diligently trained his underlings so as to not miss a beat when he left. (Not all toji do that!) That, and the technical prowess and sheer enthusiasm of the son of the owner make this one of the best values on the market. The explosive nose of this medium-bodied sake exhibits slight wood spice and floral aromas that quickly move towards apple compote and lively citrus notes akin to lime rind. From green fruit flavors upfront to a creamy mid-palate with some super ripe cantaloupe and honeydew, the mild acidity allows the minerality to exert itself on the finish. Steve: How has this and other Tohoku breweries been doing since the tsunami? John: The name Iwate is surely familiar as a locale that suffered massive loss in the earthquake and tsunami that occurred last March 11. Nanbu Bijin was spared the brunt of the damage due to their specific location. However, soon after that, the aforementioned son of the owner (he will inherit the brewery in time) used his social media skills to tell the entire country to help the Tohoku region by eating and drinking Tohoku food and sake. “If you continue to show self-restraint, you will hurt us more than honor us, as we need the...

Sake of the month: February, 2011 is Takatenjin –Soul of the Sensei Steve here: Hello John. We’re ready to hear about your sake pick-of-the-month for February? John: This month I have chosen Takatenjin, a Junmai Daiginjo that is a generally light, complex and fragrant. Steve: Where does it come from? John: Takatenjin comes from the same brewery that makes the inimitable Kaiun in Shizuoka Prefecture, on the coast, just south of Tokyo. The former toji (brewmaster,) Shokichi Hase, had worked there 40 years before passing a couple summers ago. He was a very famous toji, known as one of the "Noto Toji no Shitennoh," or "Four Guardians of Heaven” of the prestigious Noto Toji Guild. Toji guilds are small groups of notable toji whose main objectives are to educate and train successors, to refine skills, and to uphold and improve the reputation of the sake from their region. Of the many ways Hase excelled was by training his successors so that the brewery did not miss a beat after his passing. Takatenjin Junmai Daiginjo starts with prominent melon aromas, with a mildly viscous touch and an alluring gentle sweetness. It is impeccably clean and punctuated with a spicy, white pepper note and is easy to drink all by itself, or with less oily grilled fish. Steve: By the way, isn’t this now the main sake brewing season? John: Yes, the brewing season is about to peak with daiginjo brewing. At all sake brewing kura, the pattern is the same: start with the rougher sake for the first few batches, then make the best sake in the middle of the season (which is now), and finish the season with lower grade sake. Steve: Why is that? John: There are many reasons. Because each year is...

Steve here: OK, John, what is a great sake suggestion for August, the hottest month of the year? John Gauntner: Ginga Shizuku is from Hokkaido, from the very center of Japan’s northernmost island. The city, Asahikawa, holds the record for the coldest recorded temperatures in Japan, which makes it a great place to brew sake! This top-grade junmai daiginjo is made with great rice, water, and yeast, but also it is drip-pressed. In other words, the sake is separated from the fermenting mash by allowing the sake to drip out with no pressure applied to the bags. This ensures more delicate, lively, vibrant flavors and aromas. Says the importer: Spice, minerality, and banana skin dominate the aroma profile of this shizuku-pressed sake. Medium-bodied with a clean impact, the flavors run the gamut of a well-crafted Junmai-Daiginjo- melons, herbs, vanilla essence and concentrated mineral flavors that keep the sake focused well into its long, ethereal finish. Truly one of the 'Rolls-Royces' of sake. Fruity Aromas From Rice? When approaching one's first ginjo or daiginjo, it is not uncommon for someone to do an olfactory double-take. “What the… Banana? Melon? Apple? Strawberry even! How does this…” they exclaim, incredulously poking a finger toward the top of a glass of sake,” come from rice? Huh?” The answer is yeast. Sake yeast takes the sugars and other compounds that come from the rice and ferments them to reveal a whole host of aromatic compounds like esters and more that give us that alluring array of fruit and more. No, the brewers do not add anything. No, it has nothing do with fruit nearby the rice fields or kura. No, it is not modern engineering. It is more like ancient craftsmanship. A line to remember: more than anything else,...

Sake of the Month – June, 2011: Fukucho “Moon on the Water” Junmai Ginjo Steve here: The world of sake brewing was traditionally a man’s world. Tell us about a sake made by a woman. John Gauntner: How about the Junmai Ginjo called Fukucho, “Moon on the Water?” This sake hails from Hiroshima Prefecture and is brewed by Miho Imada, the daughter of the company’s president and owner-inherit. Imada took over the operation when she realized that if she did not take it on, no one would. Even a few decades ago, a woman would not have even been allowed to enter the kura (brewery,) much less be a brewer; much, much less be the toji (master brewer). Imada’s kura sits just down the hill from the remains of the Sanzabura Miura kura, where modern ginjo brewing techniques were developed in Hiroshima almost a century ago, launching Hiroshima into sake prominence. Both Imada’s skill and style are clearly expressed in her sake. Though she makes a wide range of styles, this “Moon on the Water” is light, fruity, bright and crisp, and often boasts anise and grapefruit. Very, very refreshing chilled as an aperitif! Steve: Is it for sale in the west? John: Like all of the sakes of the month on this blog, Moon on the Water is available in the U.S. It is a wonderful sake that I hope people will try. Steve: Changing the subject, tell us about nama-zake. John: Nama-zake is unpasteurized sake. Many variations on the pasteurization process itself, lead to many variations in nama-zake, the terms that define it, and the sake behind those terms. To be very clear: nama-zake is NOT necessarily better than its pasteurized equivalent. Many people like to promote nama as better, rare, fresher,...

Sake of the Month – May, 2011: Kanbara Bride of the Fox Steve here: Warm weather is back. The days are getting longer. What great sake do you have in mind for May, John? John: You will love this one, Steve: Kanbara Bride of the Fox. This Junmai Ginjo takes its name from the famous fox-bride festival held annually in this small town in Niigata, to celebrate a local legend about mysterious lights that have appeared on nearby Mt. Kirin; brewed with locally-grown Gohyakumangoku rice. Enjoy intense aromas of grilled nuts, pistachio, and a hint of white chocolate. Flavors of nuts and ripe honeydew explode at the front. It finishes crisp with a hint of lingering sweetness. And, for those interested in such things, Stephen Tanzer has given this sake 91 points! In 2007, he wrote: “Very pale color, deeper than the Wandering Poet but less brilliant. High-pitched, nuanced nose combines melon, lime, mint, nuts and dusty fresh herbs. Juicy and intense, with assertive flavors of citrus fruit, melon, herbs, spices and nuts. Not a heavy style but boasts impressive palate presence and plenty of character. The long finish hints at melon and nuts.” Steve: What do you think about the adding alcohol as part of the production process of some brands of sake? John: Junmai means pure rice, and that word on the bottle means the sake was made without adding any distilled alcohol. While this seems intrinsically better to some folks, in truth, adding a very small amount of alcohol to a sake can be a very, very good thing. Why? Because they add it just before the final pressing, and since flavorful and aromatic compounds are soluble in alcohol, by temporarily raising the overall alcohol content they can pull out more...

Sake of the Month, April, 2011: Ama no To–Heaven’s Door Steve here: John! What is your sake recommendation this month? John: For April, I suggest that you try Ama no To, from Akita Prefecture, snow country in the far north of Honshu Island. This sake takes its name from an ancient poem about how the world began. It is a fascinating brew from a fascinating kura, with a fascinating toji (master brewer). Master brewer, chef, photographer, rice farmer, published author, and all around interesting guy, Yasuichi Moriya, is certainly well rounded. And his sake rocks, to boot. On top of that, they are adamant about using only local rice. Like, really local rice– all of the rice they use is grown in fields that can be seen from the roof of their brewery. This tokubetsu junmai is laced with fig and butter, with a slightly rich and sweet touch to the flavor that seems perfectly in place. A drier and clean finish ties it all together. Very enjoyable with salty grilled salmon, or bacon-garnished cream pasta. Steve: As part of our on-going sake education, please tell us about the different ways of pressing sake. John: After a 20-day to 35-day fermentation, a tank of sake looks like a thin white milky slurry, but tastes and smells just wonderful. The final big step is to pass that mash through a mesh to remove the rice solids. Most English texts call this step “pressing” since there is a charcoal filtration step later. Sake can be pressed by machine, and 99% of all sake is done this way. The machines do a fine job. However, it can also be pressed by putting the mash into long cotton bags and laying those bags in a deep wooden box,...

Sake of the Month: March, 2011: Mantensei Steve here: Okay, John. What is your sake suggestion for this month? John: Steve, you have to try Mantensei. A great sake with an interesting story. Steve: Tell me more. John: A few twists of fate brought this brewer, Touda-dan, to where he is now. A microbiologist by education, he joined a sake brewery because of his love of yeast research. The brewery president at the time, with no heirs of his own, eventually passed the running of the company on to him.  Later, the toji (master brewer) passed away suddenly, leaving Touda-dan in charge of production as well. In control of the entire operation, he soon shifted all their sake production to junmai-shu only. He was passionate about the concept of using only rice to brew sake (i.e. no added alcohol). Touda-dan obviously prefers sake that has a bit of body and maturity to it.  His company is located in the western prefecture of Tottori, the least populated in Japan, in the city of Chizu, famous for kitchen knives as well as being the birthplace of shabu-shabu! Steve: What does Mantensei taste like? John: It has a soft, honey-laced nose with just a tad of fruitiness.  It is dry overall, but with a sweet element creeping out of the background.  It has good richness and overall balance in a slightly dry profile. Sake tokkuri by Yoshisuji Keiji Steve: I look forward to trying it. By the way, could you explain the term Multiple Parallel Fermentation? John: Sure. Sake is the only marketed alcoholic beverage in the world that is produced by multiple parallel fermentation. Wine is made using grape juice that has sugar in it already. Yeast takes in this sugar and gives off alcohol. This is chemically a simple fermentation. Beer starts with barley that...