INTOXICANTS

From China last week, we jump to Japan and a potable the natives call sake (sah'kee).  Sake is called a rice wine by the masses but it's actually more akin to beer.  Wine uses the sugars of fruit, usually grapes, to ferment into alcohol.  With sake, the starches are removed from rice by a brewing process and these starches produce sugars which are then fermented. 

Sake is finished with 15 to 20% alcohol by volume - a little more than your every day wine and a lot more than beer.  It is a clear liquid that can carry the flavors of fruits and spices. 

The traditional Japanese serving method is to have it slightly warmed in the winter and chilled in the summer.  The standard serving method is to use special richly decorated ceramic serving pitchers called tokkuri and small ceramic cups called choko.  One of my sons-in-law, who then traveled as a guest of the U.S. Navy, gifted me with a bottle and a beautiful serving set many years ago.  I treasure it.  Here it is:

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