Alcoholic drinks in Japanese style. Japanese alcohol from Okinawa Japanese liquor names

Japan and China are famous for their tea ceremonies. Green tea is rightfully considered the national drink of both countries. But he is not the only one who is traditional. There are other Japanese and Chinese national drinks that are in great demand all over the world. Green tea has actually gained high popularity in many countries. It originally appeared in China, and a little later Japan adopted it from its neighbors. This drink receives a lot of attention after meals. They drink it slowly to get a good feel for the taste. Sweets are not served with it, as it is believed that they can only spoil the taste of the tea. When the first mug is drunk, more water is poured into it, since it is believed that the second brew is much tastier than the first. The tea ceremonies that take place in both countries are truly a beautiful sight. Sometimes they can last for hours, completely immersed in the wisdom of Chinese philosophers. Sake is another name for rice vodka, not entirely unreasonably, because the strength of this drink does not exceed 19 degrees. It is obtained from water and rice, by fermenting the latter. There are many varieties of sake, differing in consistency and strength from 14 to 19 degrees, because in every corner of Japan it is prepared differently. Depending on what products are added besides rice, the taste and color of sake may change. Often this vodka can have a yellowish color due to lemon or taste like mushrooms, soy sauce and even cheese. Sake can sometimes be added to a marinade, such as pickled pink ginger. Shochu is also a Japanese alcoholic drink. Its strength is 25 degrees. There are two main types of shochu: korui and otsurui. When producing these types, the first should not exceed 36 degrees in strength, and the second should not exceed 45 degrees. In any case, so that the drinks are not so strong, they are diluted. In terms of its taste, shochu has many variations: barley, fruit, rice, potato, sugar and others. The taste can be sweet, bitter, slightly sour. Plum wine is in a special position in both Japan and China. It is made from a special variety of green plums, ume. The finished wine has a golden color, and to give it a red or green hue, the wine is infused with red perilla leaves or green tea. This wine is served not like grape wine in a transparent glass, but in a bowl with a short stem. And ice added to plum wine can help reveal its taste, which is considered unacceptable for grape wine. Plum wine is served with sushi and meat, and combined with desserts. If we talk about Chinese traditional drinks, they are mainly characterized by color, such as baijiu and huangjiu. The first translated means “white alcoholic drink”, and the second means “yellow alcoholic drink”. The most popular variety of baijiu, “Maotai,” can range in strength from 40 degrees to 60 degrees. Moreover, its price is quite high compared to other drinks. In essence, this is rice vodka. Huangjiu is otherwise called yellow wine, which is prepared from rice or millet. When held up to light, it is transparent with an amber tint. It is not only served as a drink, but also added when frying fish and meat. Some types of meat are even specially soaked in this wine before being placed in a frying pan. Despite the huge amount of alcoholic beverages, you can almost never see a drunk person on the streets of Japan and China, since the culture of drinking implies peace and sleep after drinking a lot.

Alcohol is a completely common drink for Japanese society. Almost no party is complete without it; in addition, at business meetings it is also customary to serve various alcoholic drinks.For this reason, in the Land of the Rising Sun you can find large number various types alcohol, and excellent quality.

Below are the most popular alcoholic drinks from Japan:

Beer- as in many other countries of the world, this is the most popular alcohol. Beer first appeared on the island of Hakkaido, and the recipes were brought from Germany. The Japanese also have exotic types of beer, for example (we wrote about him earlier).

Happoshu(literal translation - "sparkling alcohol") - beer with low malt content. Such drinks appeared quite recently, and their main feature is the same strength as beer. But there is noticeably less malt here, which makes the drink taste more pleasant.

« Third beer" - this is already a real novelty in the Japanese brewing industry. There's no malt here at all. Instead, soybeans, wheat and even peas are used. The drink is popular, and its production volumes will only grow.

Sake- rice wine, which has managed to acquire many admirers outside the Land of the Rising Sun. When preparing this drink, a clear sequence of actions and the use of the best ingredients are important, otherwise the final result will be far from ideal. The alcohol content in the final product is 10-20%. Sake can be consumed hot or cold.

Shochu- a fairly strong drink, the alcohol content of which can reach a significant 40%. It is prepared based on ancient recipes and served with ice and fruit juice.

Light fruit drinks, the alcohol content of which ranges from 5-8%. Flavors vary widely, but fruits from the citrus and pear families are generally preferred. Representatives of the fair half of humanity love to drink such drinks.

Plum wine- a wine that is made from Japanese plums and has a surprisingly pleasant taste. Even those who have a very cool attitude towards alcohol will approve of this drink. Plum wine is usually made at home, but can often be found on Japanese store shelves.

Anyone can buy alcoholic drinks in local supermarkets, liquor stores and even in vending machines. You can buy alcoholic beverages until 11 pm local time. It is interesting that in Japan alcohol is sold from the age of 20, and not from 18, as in our country.

Sake

There is a common misconception in Russia that sake is the same as vodka, but only made from rice. In fact
Russian vodka and Japanese sake are united only by their place in the drinking culture of these two peoples.

Sake is traditionally made only from rice, and is a product of rice fermentation rather than distillation. The alcohol content in this drink is about 15%. So it would be more correct to call sake rice brew, or even rice beer. Most literary sources They designate it as “rice wine”, and we will adhere to this terminology.

The Japanese cannot imagine their life without rice wine, and for the rest of the world sake has long become a symbol of Japan, just like a cherry blossom branch, a geisha or a haiku. The character sake can be found in many place names and even in Japanese surnames. In Japanese mythology, sake plays the role of magical cleansing. For many centuries, the Japanese have worshiped rice wine deities, and some Shinto shrines are dedicated to them, such as Omiwa no Kami in Nara. During the ritual of ascension to the throne, the new emperor must make an offering to the gods of rice and sake.

Many Japanese holidays traditionally begin with the ceremonial ceremony of uncorking a barrel of sake: several of the most respected people grab the long handle of a wooden hammer and break its lid. During a Japanese wedding, the bride and groom must exchange three "sakazuki" (small, medium and large cups) of rice wine three times. This ritual, called "san-san-kudo" (three-three-nine times), binds the young couple together forever.

The list of events in the life of the Japanese, the obligatory component of which should be a cup of sake, can be endless, and each occasion has its own signs: on “Girls’ Day” it is customary to dip peach petals into rice wine, “Children’s Day” is not complete without sake with iris petals, During the Chrysanthemum Festival, this wine is drunk with chrysanthemum petals, and if a cherry blossom petal falls into the sake of some lucky person during the Days of Spring Sakura Admiration, unprecedented luck awaits him. Since 1978, Japanese rice wine has had its own holiday - on the first day of October, the Japanese solemnly celebrate Sake Day.

Classification

All the variety of types of Japanese rice wine can be divided into two categories: “futsu-shu” and “tokutei-meisho-shu”.

Futsu-shu (ordinary sake) is prepared from rice that has lost only about 10% of its original mass during grinding. During production, a fairly large amount (about 30% of the total weight of the grounds subjected to fermentation) of so-called “fermentable” strong alcohol, sugar (glucose, etc.) is usually added to such wine during production.

Tokutei-meisho-shu (sake with a prescribed name) unites eight varieties of high-quality sake, the production of which is regulated by Japanese law:

“honjozo-shu” is prepared from rice that has retained no more than 70% of its original mass after grinding, with the addition of “fermentable” strong alcohol of no more than 10% of the weight of the fermented grounds;

“Jummai-shu” - sake made from rice, which also retained no more than 70% of its original mass, but without the addition of “fermentable” strong alcohol;

"tokubetsu honjozo-shu" is prepared in the same way as "honjojo-shu", but only with more high degree cleaning rice - about 60% of the original mass should remain;

"Ginjo-shu" - sake slowly fermented at controlled (lower) temperatures. A premium drink, it is prepared from rice that has retained no more than 60% of its original mass. Addition of “fermentable” strong alcohol - no more than 10%;

“tokubetsu jummai-shu” is prepared similarly to “junmai-shu”, but the rice is polished up to 60%;

“Jummai Ginjo-shu” is prepared in the same way as “Ginjo-shu”, but without the addition of “fermentable” strong alcohol. Premium sake;

“Daiginjo-shu” is a super-premium drink. “Great Ginjo-shu” is prepared in the same way as regular rice, but the degree of polishing of the rice is very high: after this procedure, no more than 50% of its original mass should remain.

“Jummai Daiginjo-shu” is a super-premium drink, differing from “Daiginjo-shu” only in the absence of any additives of “fermented” strong alcohol.

In addition to the above classification, sake is divided into various types and on other grounds. So, depending on whether it has been filtered or not, sake can be “sei-shu” (refined) and “nigorizake” (unrefined). Rice wine that has not undergone pasteurization, “live”, is called “namazake”. There is also “nama-chozo-shu” (aged “alive”) - wine that has not been pasteurized before aging, and “nama-zume-zake” (bottled “live.”) “Shin-shu” is “young” sake , which goes on sale within a year from the moment of its production, while “ko-shu” is “old” sake, that is, aged for more than a year. In addition, sake can be “gen-shu” (natural strength, undiluted - 18-20% vol.) and “tei-arukuru-shu” (reduced strength - 8-10% vol.), as well as “taruzake” (“barrel” sake) – aged in wooden barrels.

Ability to drink sake

It is a cultural myth that sake should only be consumed hot. Rice wine has a fairly wide drinking temperature range. The Japanese enjoy drinking their national drink warmed up, lukewarm, and even iced, cooling it with ice cubes. Their choice depends on the time of year, the brand of sake, and simply personal preference.

Sake is heated in special porcelain jugs with a narrow neck, with a capacity of 180 or 360 ml. These jugs are called "tokkuri". At home, the easiest way is to lower the tokkuri into a pan of hot water for a couple of minutes, while in restaurants a special stove is used for this.

There are several degrees of heating: “hinatakan” (“sunny”) – 30°C, “itohadakan” (“human skin”) – 35°C, “nurukan” (“slightly warm”) – 40°C, “jokan” ( “warm”) – 45°С, “atsukan” (“hot”) – 50°С and “tobikirikan” (“extra”) – 55°С. But if you are just getting started with sake, then you can safely experiment only with heating ordinary drinks. And regarding more expensive varieties (“ginjo-shu” or “daiginjo-shu”), it is better to first consult with specialists, otherwise you risk ruining the exquisite aroma and taste of sake.

Once the required temperature is reached, the tokkuri is placed on a special ceramic stand - tokkuri-hakama - and served.

In ancient times, rice wine was drunk from special large bowls, which were passed around during the feast. Nowadays, sake is served in miniature “sakazuki” bowls made of clay, glass or wood, or small square “tubs” with a capacity of 30-40 ml. You should drink sake in small sips, stretching out the pleasure over several hours in a leisurely conversation.

In the restaurant, an individual “tokkuri” is placed in front of everyone who orders sake, but do not rush to fill your “glass” yourself - it is not customary to drink sake this way. During a meal, you need to ceremonially treat your neighbor to a drink from your jug, who in turn will make sure that your cup is not empty. Sake needs to be topped up before each toast, of which the most common is “Kampai” (to the bottom). If you find yourself the only sake lover in the company, then in this case someone should look after you, and your politeness will manifest itself in the fact that you will hold your “sakazuki” in the air.

Now a few words about how to properly store sake. One of the peculiarities of rice wine is that long aging does not benefit it at all. Therefore, it is advisable to consume it within a year after bottling.

Sake is very sensitive to temperature and light. It should be stored at a temperature of 1-8°C, with minimal lighting. Hitting the bottle straight sun rays(as well as light from fluorescent or quartz lamps) can be fatal to your drink. It doesn't need excess moisture either. The best place to store sake at home is in the refrigerator.

As for snacks, light and harmonious dishes of Japanese cuisine are best suited for the Japanese national drink. The taste of sake is especially enhanced by the finest pieces of raw fish - sashimi, as well as pickled vegetables, sushi and herring caviar.

Japanese wine

Japanese wines are some of the rarest in the world. Most people associate Japan only with sake, an alcoholic drink made from polished rice. Indeed, sake is the main Japanese drink. However, it is a mistake to believe that only rice wine is made in Japan. Dry and semi-dry red Japanese wine is produced from local Koshu grapes, the quality of which is recent years is at a high level. A wine is considered Japanese if it uses only 5% of grapes grown in the Land of the Rising Sun. Grape plantings here occupy very small areas, since they require serious care - harsh natural conditions do not allow winemakers to sit idle. Japanese grape wines are very specific, which is what attracts true wine lovers. It is impossible not to touch upon the topic of fruit wines – Japanese plum wine should be considered a must-try. Fresh, clear dessert wines are made from pomegranate, pear, peach, and quince.

There are several wine classification systems in Japan. Thus, in Nagano, Japanese wines are controlled by origin (the system is similar to the French AOC), and in other regions, bottles of quality wine are marked with a special distinction.

You can only taste Japanese wines in a national restaurant; they are very rarely found on the open market.

Wine Umenishiki Umesu

Japan, Ehime

Volume: 720 ml

ABV: 14%

Fruit Wine, Sweet

Umeshu is a traditional Japanese liqueur, which in Russia is better known as “plum wine”. To make Umeshu, still unripe plum fruits are infused with sake or shochu, adding sugar. The best plum variety for Umeshu is Nanko (Ehime Prefecture), its fruits are infused in shochu for 4 months. Then the fruits are removed and the young Umeshu is kept for another year. At the end of aging, Umeshu is diluted with sake of the Junmai-shu class (basic premium) and mirin (a type of Japanese alcoholic drink).

Yuzu Wine, 720 ml

Yuzu Vine

Japan, Yamanashi

Manufacturer:

Budoshu stamps

Fruit Wine, Sweet

Volume: 720 ml

ABV:8%

Yuzu Wine is an extraordinary tangerine wine. It is prepared from a special variety of yuzu tangerines. Despite such a sweet name, there is not even the slightest hint of cloying in Yuzu Wine. The wine producer, Budoshu Brands, is a high-status company known all over the world, and the wine itself regularly wins prizes at the most prestigious wine competitions in Japan.
The taste of the wine is rather slightly sour, unsweetened, with invigorating notes of zest, delicate bitterness and a slightly perceptible but distinct sweetness. The notes of yuzu tangerines themselves are more similar to the taste of grapefruit or pomelo than to the familiar Spanish and Moroccan tangerines.
The wine is recommended to be served with desserts, not too sweet, airy and tender. For example, such as cheesecake.

Kazunuma Sinsengumi Kosyu, 720 ml

Katsunuma Shinsengumi Koshu

Japan, Yamanashi

Manufacturer: Budoshu Brands

Wine White, Dry

Volume: 720 ml

ABV: 12%
The wine is golden yellow in color with a greenish tint.
An unusual tasting wine, slightly sweet, with well-balanced acidity.
The wine has a light fruity aroma.
The wine goes well with traditional dishes Japanese cuisine, especially sashimi and nimono (boiled vegetable dishes).
Wine Umenishiki No Umesu, 110 ml

Japan, Ehime

Manufacturer: Umenishiki Yamakawa

Fruit Wine, Sweet

Volume: 110ml Strength: 14%

Umeshu is a traditional Japanese liqueur, which in Russia is better known as “plum wine”. To make Umeshu, still unripe plum fruits are infused with sake or shochu, adding sugar. The best plum variety for Umeshu is Nanko (Ehime Prefecture), its fruits are infused in shochu for 4 months. Then the fruits are removed and the young Umeshu is kept for another year. At the end of aging, Umeshu is diluted with Junmai-shu (basic premium) sake and mirin (a type of Japanese alcoholic drink).

The color of Umenishiki No Umeshu plum wine is light reddish brown.
The taste of the wine is sweet and plummy, but not cloying.
The wine has a light fruity aroma with subtle notes of green tea.
Japanese plum wine Umeshu goes well with fruits and desserts, and also serves as an aperitif.

Green tea

The main drink of Japan is, of course, tea. It accompanies any Japanese meal, from everyday lunch to festive feast. The Japanese drink mostly green tea, which results in a significant variety of varieties. However, the Japanese also drink black tea, but they do not distinguish separate varieties for it and call it by the general name ko-cha.

Sencha is a basic Japanese tea from which many other Japanese teas are based. In fact, sencha is ordinary green tea that does not require special knowledge and skills in preparation. All green tea lovers will definitely like it. Like any tea, sencha can be of high quality or not. You should not draw conclusions about this tea after trying sencha of unknown production. A good sencha consists of flat and long fragile tea leaves of a fresh green color with a herbal aroma. Even high-grade sencha contains large amounts of powder or “tea dust.” When brewed, sencha gives an infusion of a very bright and vibrant green color, so it should be drunk from transparent or white cups. The aroma and taste of sencha is soft, at the same time fresh and slightly sweet and velvety. Sencha contains a large amount of caffeine and vitamins C and B2. This tea invigorates and cleanses the body.
Preparing sencha is simple, but you may not succeed the first time. It would seem difficult: warm up the kettle, add the tea leaves, add water, remembering that the water should not be boiling, and leave for a while... However, it is impossible to give universal recommendations about the amount of dry tea leaves, water temperature and time of infusion, because the quality tea and water are always different. Tea brews worse in hard water because its active substances cannot dissolve completely. For green (and in general all) teas there is a universal rule: the more delicate the tea and softer the water, the lower the water temperature should be and the shorter the infusion time. The brewing time for sencha is no more than a minute. This means that all the tea from the teapot should be poured into cups or into a separate container no later than a minute later. If you over-expose, the tea will be bitter; if you under-expose, the taste will not be rich enough. Sencha is the only Japanese tea that almost does not change its taste and smell during the second and subsequent brewings. Other Japanese teas cannot be brewed several times. When brewing each new tea for the first time, it is recommended to take a small amount of tea and steep it for a very short time. If the taste and aroma seem weak, leave the second brew longer, and next time increase the amount of tea. The indicator of a properly brewed sencha is thick foam. If it is not there, it means that the water is too hot, cold, hard, or the tea itself leaves much to be desired.

Gyokuro tea (also known as “precious dew” or “jade drops”) is essentially the highest grade of sencha. It is very rich in aromatic oils, vitamins, minerals, caffeine and other useful and pleasant things for humans. It’s not for nothing that gyokuro is called the “king of teas” and “the tea of ​​geniuses” - it lifts the mood and stimulates mental activity. In taste and aroma, gyokuro is reminiscent of sencha, but with light, almost imperceptible shades. The color of dry tea varies from bright green to golden brown depending on the area and weather at the time of growth and harvest. To preserve the delicate taste and aroma of this tea, the water should be cooled to 50C. Hotter water will destroy all the beauty of the tea.

Matcha is a powdered, most complex Japanese tea. It was invented in China in the 10th century and came to Japan only in the 12th century. Having been forgotten in its homeland, powdered tea has become a cultural heritage of Japan. It is used for the classic Japanese tea ceremony. The difficulties with matcha tea begin even before the leaves are harvested. A few weeks before harvest, tea bushes are covered to protect the leaves from direct sunlight. This enriches the tea leaves with amino acids and makes the drink sweeter. When the collected leaves are rolled and dried, gyokuro tea is obtained. When the leaves are dried, then the stems and veins are removed and ground with stone millstones, the resulting matcha is a bright green powder with a consistency similar to talc. Matcha of the highest grades has sweet taste and deep aroma. For this tea, the most tender top leaves are collected, giving bright color and the maximum amount of nutrients.

Tamaryokucha is a high-quality rolled tea. To prepare it, tea leaves are steamed or fried. Tamaryokucha is rich in vitamins and contains little caffeine. This tea has a berry flavor with an almond aftertaste and a citrus-herbal aroma.

Japanese Genmaicha tea is a combination of sencha with toasted puffed brown rice. This mixture gives a cloudy light brown color to the infusion and a rich tea-rice aroma with hints of seeds and fish. Genmaicha tastes and feels like soup. After drinking the tea, you can eat rice. This dish is a great alternative to dinner or breakfast for those on a diet. In Japan, genmaichu is drunk to combat hunger without burdening the stomach. This tea contains a large amount of vitamin B1 and a small amount of caffeine.

Hojicha is baked sencha. This tea is made from not the highest grade sencha, which is roasted until a specific roasted aroma appears. The tea leaves in this tea are brown and shiny, not as smooth as in senche. Hojicha is brewed by regular infusion for no longer than a minute. The color of the infusion is very similar to weakly brewed black tea. Hodzhicha does not have subtle shades of aroma and taste. This is a simple tea to quench your thirst or wash down your meal. Other teas characterized as low quality sencha are bancha and kukicha. These simple teas are made from large, coarse leaves harvested late in the season. In such tea it is easy to see the cuttings and twigs, which is not surprising - after all, these are the simplest and cheapest of Japanese teas, not intended for export.

Shiotyu

For lovers of even stronger drinks, the Japanese can offer shiochu. Its strength is 25-30 degrees. IN lately This drink, made from potatoes or grains, is becoming a serious competitor to traditional sake, as it is much cheaper and, unlike sake, does not contain sugar. The Japanese firmly believe that after shiochu there is no hangover and it is dietary, due to its lower sugar content compared to sake.
Shiochu has a milder than sake, but almost no pronounced fruity taste and aroma.
Shiotya can be drunk with ice, diluted with water, tea or juice, or just like that. It goes well with not only Japanese but European dishes.

Beer

Beer is a drink that the Japanese also did not ignore. Despite the lack of beer bellies, they willingly consume it. Beer appeared in Japan relatively recently, somewhere in the second half of the 19th century, however, the largest Japanese brewery, Kirin, already ranks fourth in the world in the production of this drink. But still, imported beers remain the most expensive. For a long time in the east they brewed a drink based on cereals, only the Japanese used not barley, but their own national crops: rice, millet, rye. But since the beginning of the 12th century, drinks brewed according to European standards have become more and more popular.
The Japanese brewing market is dominated by six powerful companies: Sapporo, Asahi, Kirin, Hokkaido Asahi, Orion and Suntory. By the way, the Japanese not only drink beer themselves, but also feed it to... cows! Indeed, in order to get the best-tasting “marbled” beef, in the town of Matsuzdaki they feed the cows beer, and in the morning they also give them massages.

Today I drank something so delicious that I can’t help but write) Let this be a post about what drinks are worth trying in Japan, maybe the info will be useful to someone.

Herb no Megumi is a tincture of 13 herbs and fruits. It is considered a beauty drink and is even rated on cosme.net, although it is sold not in cosmetics, but in alcohol stores. The tincture has a strength of 13%, it is recommended to drink it diluted with ice or hot water, add it to ice cream and desserts. Indicated for those who are cold, suffer from poor blood circulation, digestion and melancholy:))) Unusual sweet and sour taste, a little reminiscent of ginseng, but just a little. Sold in supermarkets, often in drag stores, as well as in grocery departments of large shopping centers.

Choya Ume Liquor - large group plum liqueurs belongs to the oldest and largest manufacturer. In Russia these drinks seem to be known as plum wine. In Japan, they take unripe ume plums, put them in special large jars, cover them with sugar and fill them with cheap strong alcohol (about 25-35 degrees, sold especially for these purposes almost in canisters). This is a homemade drink that many families prepare according to their own recipes with their own tricks. Umeshu is very sweet, with a rich plum flavor. I don't know how to drink it just like that - everything will stick together! Traditionally, umeshu is drunk with hot water or ice, or used in cocktails. Of all Japanese sweet liqueurs, my favorite is “oyuwari” - with boiling water, 1 to 1. In winter, when the wet cold penetrates to the bones, it tastes better than mulled wine! There are a lot of umeshu manufacturers, but Choya is considered one of the most decent, so it can be safely recommended. Choya drinks are sold in different bottles and even chekushki with a plum floating inside. All will have Choya written in Latin letters. Cheap liqueurs in tetra packs are quite normal, but in this case, of course, the more expensive, the tastier. Alcohol is very common and is probably available at airports.

Apricotsovka is the same liqueur as plum liqueur, only made from apricots. A very beautiful bottle, in my opinion, perfect for a gift. Tasty as hell :)) this manufacturer also has drinks made from lychee, apple, blueberry, but somehow it’s not the same, apricot is the best. There is also kinkan, a relative of quince - this is also a very traditional raw material for tinctures, but I have not tried it. This brand also has glass bottles, a very souvenir look for a small present.

This is also a very common drink, available in all supermarkets and many convenience stores, and costs about $10 per bottle.

Beer in a “children’s” can is such a local joke; some brands of beer are sold both in regular containers and in 135 ml cans. I don’t know what this is for - probably for those who just want to feel the taste of beer, but don’t really want to drink. I suspect that the most famous Japanese beer abroad is Asahi... although in Japan it is not the most important and Kirin and Suntory are also widespread. Kirin and Asahi definitely have “children’s” jars, I haven’t come across others or don’t remember them. But they are not sold everywhere.

Sake is the most difficult. Of course, everyone wants it, but without Japanese it’s difficult to choose, and with Japanese it’s not very easy. The main thing is not to confuse sake and shochu (I’m writing garbled, but the Latin alphabet won’t work any better, and I’ll write about the hieroglyphs below), they look about the same, but the taste is completely different. In addition, some types of sake are best drunk hot, some - cold, the same sake can be tasteless when cold and amazing when warmed up. The strength of sake is only 14%, so you don’t need to listen to stories about what a terrible Japanese vodka it is :) Japanese microwaves have a mode for heating sake; if not, you can heat it in the milk mode, after pouring it into a ceramic jug. What will happen if you pour sake into a ladle and heat it on the stove - to be honest, I don’t know :) But it’s probably better not to, so that the alcohol doesn’t evaporate ahead of time. For drinking, sake is average between warm and hot (40-50%), it has a slightly sweetish tart taste. To be honest, I didn’t drink sake cold. To determine the best way to drink this or that sake, you need to know the type of raw material - rice, from which it is made. Hardly to the common man this knowledge will be revealed even if he posts a label with hieroglyphs to the Ru_Japan community, so you can offer to try both ways - the aroma of cold and heated sake is different, whichever tastes better will do! In general, sake can be drunk chilled like beer, at room temperature, warm or with ice.
Sake is written like this, and this word should be looked for not on the front, but on the back of the bottle. Or pester the seller with the word - nihonshu! Normal sake can be purchased for about $15 for 0.7-1 liters, and there is no upper price limit. Sake is a very regional drink, there are millions of producers, and the choice in different cities can vary greatly.

It is advisable to drink sake from small cups and serve it in a jug so that the alcohol does not evaporate.

Shochu is an alcohol of a lower rank than sake, made not from rice, but from improvised materials such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, buckwheat, etc. tops It has a sharp fusel smell, although it can be expensive, and fans claim that good shochu is not inferior to sake in taste. I haven’t tried it, so I just want to warn you, because if you accidentally buy it under the guise of sake, you may end up disappointed. Shochu is widely used in Japanese cocktails, just mix it with ice, soda and traditional Japanese liqueur or syrup - and the authentic taste is ready. Spelled like this, the bottles can easily be confused with sake. Like sake, it can be sold in tetrapacks, ceremonial boxes or in bottles packed in thin white paper.