Warm sake on a cold night 寒夜の燗酒

At the end of January, it was brutally cold due to an Arctic vortex which swept over the continent. Lows were in the single digits, wind chills in the negative range and daily highs never got above freezing for many days. In addition, there was a winter storm that produced a significant snow accumulation. The snow was then coated with sleet and freezing rain becoming a solid block of ice which stayed for days due to the Arctic weather.

This was a perfect time to have hot pot “nabe 鍋” dishes and “kanzake 燗酒” warm sake. One day, we had “Ishikari-nabe 石狩鍋” with our favorite warm sake (Tengumai yamahai-jikomi junmai 天狗舞山廃仕込純米). Another night,  we had a special sake “Kiku-masamune junmai taruzake 菊正宗純米樽酒” warm. This is the sake we had when we visited an Izakaya in Tokyo called “Fukube ふくべ”. They had a large wooded cask or “taru 樽” of Kiku-masamune. We had it at room temperature but later we learned that the regulars have this “nuru-kan ぬる燗” or warmed even in summer. Taking heed of what we learned at the Izakayae in Tokyo, we took out our handy-dandy electric sake warmer (Picture #2) and enjoyed it warm as recommended. This sake is quite a character; its flavor changes based on the temperature at which it is served. When served warm the cedar flavor characteristic of its cooler state becomes a bit muted and integrates more subtly into the base taste of the sake.

No sake, no matter how good, can shine at its best if not accompanied by a some tasty small dishes. I served this sake with some “tsumami つまみ” appetizers. None of them were new to our repertoire but served the purpose well. Since we got “hoshigaki 干し柿” dried persimmon from Japanese taste, I made “daikon namasu 大根なます” and topped it with dried persimmon (lower right). Others included “Russian marinated salmon 鮭のロシア漬け” (upper left), pickled herring (from a jar) with sour cream dill sauce (upper middle), salmon kelp roll 鮭の昆布巻き and spicy tofu ピリ辛豆腐 (lower left).

Historic note: Placing sake in a Japanese cedar “taru” cask may have started before pasteurization. It was done to preserve sake as well as cover up unwanted flavors which may have developed in unpasteurized and non-refrigerated sake. In modern times, due to refrigeration, there is no need to place sake in a cedar cask but people developed a taste for the distinctive cedar aroma/flavor. This is a situation similar to the Greek wine “Retsina” which was flavored with the pine resin used to seal the amphora in which it was stored. Now even though those type of amphora are no longer needed, pine resin flavor is added to the wine.

In any case, this sake comes in a blue tinted bottle shaped like a traditional “tokkuri とっくり” which was used to buy/store/carry sake or other liquids in the old days. The rope on the neck of the bottle is for easy carrying or (in the old days) securing the tokkuri bottle to your sash (for handy access to a drink). One other sake we like served warm “Gekkeikan 月桂冠Black and Gold” also comes in a similarly shaped bottle.

For heating and maintaining the warm sake, we have been using the electric sake warmer shown in picture #2 for some time. It is a “must have” even if you drink warm sake only occasionally. I sure beats the old fashioned methods we used to use such as partially immersing the sake filled container in hot water or microwaving it. This little warmer heats up and maintains the sake at the specified temperature—no fuss no muss.

Although we have not tried many sakes warm, our rankings are #1 Tengumai Junmai, #2. Kiku-masamune Junmai Taruzake and #3 Gekkeikan Junmai “Black and Gold”.