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 Sake
has several different import uses in Japanese culture and
tradition. Though this delicious and savory beverage has been
around for more than 2,000 years and has over 10,000
varieties, up until the last twenty years or so sake has been
mostly produced and consumed in Japan. But a recent surge in
popularity has brought sake to new markets around the world.
This has meant that along with traditional ways of drinking
sake there are a wide variety of new sake drinks to sample and
enjoy.
Sake is used
for many purposes in Japan's most prominent religion, Shinto.
A Shinto bride and groom consume 9 drinks of sake during their
wedding ceremony to seal their vows. The image of the moon
reflected in a sake bowl is also significant in Shinto, and
sake is also consumed on special occasions to promote good
health. But sake is more than a religious drink: sake is
consumed in everyday life, as well. Sake is generally served
before a meal. Because it is made with rice, most Japanese
people will not drink sake with a rice dish, but sake can
accompany other dishes.
When serving
sake as an aperitif, it is customary to use a serving set
consisting of a small pitcher and several small cups that may
look like little bowls. Serving sets come in a variety of
shapes, and are generally ceramic or wood. One of the most
important rules of traditional sake etiquette is that you must
not serve yourself sake; instead, each person at the table
serves one or more other people. The server holds the pitcher
with both hands, while the person receiving the sake holds
their cup with one hand and support the bottom of the cup with
the other hand. In many social settings, this ritual is only
observed for the first round, but it does add a kind of
intimacy to your gatherings with family or friends. Sake has
been traditionally served warm in ceramic serving sets; if
chilled or room temperature sake is being served a wooden set
is often used.
Sake has
recently been imported to the United States and other western
nations, and this has spawned a new generation of sake drinks.
Some of these include:
Sake
Bomb
Ingredients:
·
1 shot glass sake
·
1 mug of beer
The
objective of this drink is to drop the shot glass of sake into
the beer, and then drink both very quickly!
Saketini
Ingredients:
·
2 ½ oz. gin
·
¼ oz. sake
·
1 cocktail olive
Combine
gin and sake with a small amount of crushed ice and shake or
stir in a mixing glass as preferred. Strain into a cocktail
glass and add the olive as a garnish. Pickled ginger can also
be used as a garnish.
Tokyo
Rose
Ingredients:
·
1 oz. sake
·
1 oz. vodka
·
1 oz. melon liqeur
·
1 cherry
Combine
ingredient in a shaker or mixing glass with ice cubes and mix
well. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with the cherry
Bloody
Sake Mary
Ingredients
·
2 oz. sake
·
3 oz. tomato juice
·
dash Tabasco sauce
·
dash Worcestershire sauce
·
1 tbsp. lime juice
·
salt and pepper to taste
·
celery stalk
Place
first six ingredients in a tall glass with ice, stir with
celery stalk. For variation, use Clamato juice to make a Sake
Bloody Caesar.
Sake
Punch
Ingredients
·
6 oz. orange juice
·
46 oz. fruit punch
·
24 oz. sake
·
ice cubes
·
sliced fruit
Mix
in a large bowl and then add ice and fruit.
Sake
is a very flexible drink, and can be enjoyed in many different
ways. While some people prefer the traditional method of
serving sake, either warm or cold, other will enjoy the
challenge of creating and serving sake-based variations of
their favorite cocktails. However you decide to serve your
sake, you are sure to enjoy the many tastes offered by this
rice drink that has been a part of Japanese life for
millennia.
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