Ready, set, sake
Author: Joshua Friend
Marmite is a timeless British classic. A horribly brilliant, fantastically revolting, brown sticky food paste. I’m a firm believer in the immense power of Marmite and think that everyone should be spreading it on toast, crumpets and crackers (but nothing more): it has acidity, complexity, a silky texture and – yes, it’s even good for you – vitamin B. But why, oh why, am I talking about Marmite? Well…
Not everyone is a fan of this wondrous spread. Those who are firmly “haters” tend to have had an unpleasant experience in their youth, or they haven’t properly given it a go. I had exactly the same opinion of sake.
My first impression of sake was created at the Bull Ring, Birmingham. Fresh off the train from the Cotswolds, my sister and I were tackling our Christmas shopping. Aged 18, being dragged around the womenswear and cosmetics sections wasn’t exactly my idea of fun, so a break – come lunchtime –was welcome.
We chose the most fashionable and sought-after Japanese restaurant in town, Yo!Sushi. Like any eager teenagers, we were lured in by the brightly coloured dishes floating by – the danger of effortlessly indulging in 48 blue, 89 pink and 36 purple plates. But what better to help wash down such authentic Japanese food than sake.
I was a little sceptical of the whole situation, but powered through and gave it a go. I didn’t understand. It didn’t make sense. Who on earth in their right mind would want this warm, savoury drink? It was salty, briny, fire water that burnt the back of my throat. Safe to say, I wasn’t convinced.
But – over the years – my tastes have changed. Tomatoes, mushrooms and mayonnaise all became enjoyable foods and finally, just recently, I was reintroduced to sake. Once an arch nemesis, this intriguing liquor is now firmly a favourite.
Catherine Owen, our in-house sake evangelist, gave me an educational and – for me, at least – life-changing tasting. If you like Manzanilla or Fino style Sherry, it’s not a huge leap to sake – either in flavour profile or alcohol level.
It’s amazing how delicate sake is in comparison to wine – incredibly complex and rich in umami, rather than the more familiar fruit found in wine. The rich volume of amino acids gives you this complex texture and flavour. Tasting just two examples side by side, the differences were astounding. Notes of florals, apple, pear, banana, melon and lychee filled one glass; the other, meanwhile, offered aromas of cereals, yeast, nutty, caramel and fungi.
It’s amazing how much one tasting can change your view. I thought I despised it, but my Yo!Sushi Experience is now far behind me. All it took was a nudge in the right direction. For sake’s sake, give it a try (and maybe Marmite, too) – you might just love it.
NEED TO KNOW: FIVE FACTS ABOUT SAKE
- Sake is made from fermented rice (not grapes, like wine, or barley, like beer)
- There are many different styles, but it is normally colourless, slightly sweet and lightly acidic
- Typically it is between 15 and 17 percent alcohol – so somewhere between still wine and fortified styles like Sherry or Port
- Polishing the rice (yes, really) and the sort of rice is key to determining the style and quality of the final product
- Approximately 80 percent of any bottle of finished sake is water
A very enjoyable read
Such a shame to have someone who clearly knows little about sake writing about it.
Also a shame that the “facts” are largely irrelevant, misleading, or incorrect.
There are several specialist sake merchants out there, who do a really good job of explaining and promoting this interesting drink. Articles like this just reverse that good work and make BBR seem out of touch with what people are actually drinking.
Japanese food has been a massive trend for ages, and interest in sake in the UK has been rising for several years. BBR seems ill-equipped to serve that demand, judging by this article.
Dear Simon,
I’m so sorry to hear that you didn’t enjoy this post, but delighted that you are already a sake enthusiast.
For those not already as hooked on the drink as you, we felt a novice’s view was important and stand by the facts published here. We’re under no impression that our five simplified “titbits” give a complete view of the world of sake, but this post is very much not intended to be the first and last word in our sake coverage (keep an eye out from a forthcoming piece that might be more in line with your level of knowledge from Catherine Owen).
I should also note that there was an element of irony in the references to Yo!Sushi, which may not have come across as well as intended. While we haven’t yet made it to The Araki for our review slot (although we have it on a long list of places to go!), there is no shortage of fantastic Japanese food in London, nor sake to drink alongside it. Our hope with this piece was to encourage those who might be wary of sake to take the leap and be inspired to try it or find out more about it – with time, learning to love it as much as we, and you, already do.
Best wishes,
Sophie Thorpe
Editor
If you imagined a rewritten article, replacing “sake” with “wine”, “Yo Sushi” with “[insert name of a pub chain with wine they’d have to pay you to drink]”, calling wine “liquor”, and pointing out that over 80% of all wine is water, I wonder how well that would sit with fans of wine?
Thank you for your message; we appreciate your point. Joshua’s piece is his personal, and novice, take on revisiting sake with a more mature palate and was intended to show how approachable – and rewarding – sake can be. I’ve tried to make it clearer at the start of the article that it’s not a sake expert’s view so future readers won’t be frustrated or disappointed.
Best,
Sophie