Sake

Sake barrels

Sake (Japanese:酒; pronounced 'sa.kɛ' Listen ) is a Japanese word for "alcoholic drink". In English, "sake" means one kind of alcoholic drink made from rice. In Japan, people call this drink nihonshu (日本酒 "Japanese alcohol") or sake. This article uses the word "sake" as it is used in English.

Ingredients

Sake is a fermented drink. Most sake is made from rice, water, kōji, and yeast. Sometimes a small amount of lactic acid is used in brewing. Water or small amounts of pure alcohol can be added at the end of production. Sake can have from 12 to 22% alcohol, but is usually around 15 or 16%. Lower quality mass-produced sake can have added sugar or flavorings.

Serving sake

A typical tokkuri and chokko

Sake is usually sold in bottles that are either 720ml or 1.8L. Drinkers or servers in a restaurant may pour it into small cups called chokko directly from the bottle. Sake is also served in smaller bottles called tokkuri. A typical serving in a bar or restaurant is 180ml. People may share that amount. When drinking together in Japan, it is considered polite to pour drinks for other people rather than for yourself.

Amazake

Amazake is sweet, low or non-alcoholic sake.[1] Archived 2013-03-25 at the Wayback Machine

Related pages

• Awamori
• Doburoku
• rice wine
• Shōchū