Steven S.
Yelp
Sake can be pretty intimidating to learn about. The labels are all in Japanese, the terminology is a bit bewildering, and one could be forgiven for assuming that, since it's Japanese, it must be a really complicated beverage in both production and taste that would take as long to learn about as wine or whiskey. Actually, it's not that bad! Really good sake has only been produced for a few decades now, and there aren't so many premium styles and brands (imported to the US, at least) that you can't learn to navigate a finely curated selection like Sakaya's pretty quickly. It helps that Sakaya has frequent tastings, an opt-in sake of the month club, and an extremely friendly and helpful couple running the shop who are more than willing to answer all your questions knowledgeably and without condescension. The best thing about this shop is that you really can't go wrong buying anything here. Other places that sell sake are hit or miss. You might find something good, but they probably don't store it chilled like you're supposed to. Or the employees know a ton about wine but nothing about sake. At Sakaya, everything is good, because they really don't sell all that much. There's a fine selection of styles including some plum wines and shochus, but they only stock things they really like and think are really good. If you don't know what to try for your first time, go for their biggest seller: a small pull-tab opened can of Kikusui (translation: Chrysanthemum Water). Very smooth tasting but with lots of character and a little alcohol taste on the palate. Only $7. If you can enjoy one of these, you can probably enjoy anything else in the store.
Here's a quick guide to sake words you can use to decode the signage:
Junmai: pure sake, only rice and water and rice polishing at least 70% (that is, 70% of the rice grain remains after polishing--the more that is polished away, generally speaking, the finer and more expensive the sake, but this doesn't mean it's better as that's a matter of taste)
Honjozo: a sake also made from rice polished to 70% but with a small amount of distilled alcohol added to smooth out the flavor
Ginjo: a sake made from rice polished to at least 60%, this is made by a unique and difficult process and is very good stuff; can be Junmai or Honjozo
Daiginjo: like Ginjo but with polishing at least 50% and sometimes as low as 35% (I even saw one down to 23% and Rick the owner says one goes as low as 18%, but I'm skeptical that these taste like anything); very expensive
Tokubetsu: just means "special" in Japanese, but it doesn't mean "good" or "better" just like a special edition a sake brewery has released
Namazake: unpasteurized sake that must be kept cold, a sake that has a wilder flavor; can also come in Junmai, Honjozo, Ginjo, etc. varieties
Nigori: "cloudy" in Japanese, this is unfiltered sake that contains the lees of the rice it was made from and often tastes quite sweet; I like Nigorizake very much but it's not typically considered sophisticated
Yamahai/Kimoto: these are two different but related variants of sake that use a different yeast fermentation process which reminds me of Belgian lambics, sort of, but that may not be a useful analogy since Kimoto is made by laboriously beating the rice mash with oars or something; anyway, this is just something else to try
Taruzake: sake aged in barrels made of sugi, or "Japanese cedar," this is generally best avoided according to sake enthusiasts (Sakaya sells one and only one)
Genshu: undiluted sake--most sake has water added to it to bring the alcohol content down to around 13-15%, but Genshu does not undergo this process, which sometimes means it's stronger, but not always
That should be enough to get you started. Just try one of everything and figure out what you like and then you can impress your friends with your sake knowledge the next time you're out having sushi. Sakaya conveniently groups their sakes together according to these categories, so it won't be too hard to find something in each one. Kanpai!
