From ancient times, Japanese people have been enjoying Sake throughout a year, appropriately reflecting the country’s four distinct seasons. In spring with cherry blossoms, summer to cool down with chilled sake, during the moon festival in autumn, and to comfort themselves while watching the beautiful snow scenery in winter.
The popularity of sake is not limited to its country of origin, but also is known in the U.S. Hot Sake was consumers choice for a while, enjoyed by the “shot" style. However, as popularity of this beautiful product of rice grew, cold sake became the consumers choice as well.
Here are some of the ways you can acquaint yourself with Sake even better.
For Junmai Daiginjo- and Junmai Ginjo-shu, having it chilled is the norm. Instead, how about trying it “Hinata-Kan"? “Hinata", meaning the sunny place, think of a nice sunny, warm temperature, and for Sake, it means around 30 degrees C. Just like a blossom of flower, the nice aroma of the Ginjo “blooms" in your mouth, giving it full body yet soft in taste. A word of caution, the delicate aroma of the Ginjo will not surface if it’s overly chilled and if it’s heat up too much, the aroma dies.
“Kan-Rock" is another way to enjoy warm sake. As the name says, all you have to do is pour the warm sake right into the glass full of ice. The blend of melted ice reduces the alcohol’s strength of the drink, and light and smooth taste of the drink is now easy bearing on your body. The chart below shows how the alias changes according to temperature variances.
| 55°C / 131°F | Tobikiri-kan
| Very Hot |
| 50°C / 122°F | Atsu-kan | Hot |
| 45°C / 113°F | Jyou-kan | Warm |
| 40°C / 104°F | Nuru-kan | Lukewarm |
| 35°C / 95°F | Hitohada-kan | Body Temperature |
| 30°C / 86°F | Hinata-kan | Sunny Warm |
| 20°C / 68°F | Jyoon | Room Temperature |
| 15°C / 59°F | Suzuhie | Cool |
| 10°C / 50°F | Hanahie | Slightly Chilled |
| 5°C / 41°F | Yukihie | Very Cold |
Enjoy the tasty sake at a variety of temperatures at every seasonal occasion!
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