What is a traditional sake set?

A sake set is more then the term used for the cups and carafe used to serve sake (the traditional alcoholic Japanese drink made from rice). Being traditional, sake sets are commonly ceramic (they can also be made out of glass or plastic).

What is Japanese sake set?

Every sake set (shuki in Japanese) is made up of one container vessel and two to four drinking cups. The vessel is known as a tokkuri, while the cups have different names depending on their shape.

What is sake made of?

Sake is a traditional alcoholic beverage made from fermented rice. The rice has been polished to remove the bran. Although sake is sometimes referred to as ‘sake wine,’ it’s fundamentally different than wine. Wine is made by fermenting sugars that are present in fruits, typically grapes.

Can you heat sake in the bottle?

It’s nice to have a tokkuri, which is a traditional flagon for sake. The ceramic ones are good for hot water baths, as they are thicker and studier. If you don’t have one, you can just put your entire bottle into the pot, as long as you can drink all of it! A tall mug will do fine too.

What sake is best warm?

If the sake is too hot the alcohol will burn off and it will be too hot to sip, so the lukewarm nuru-kan is usually the most appreciated by purists.

Why are sake bottles so small?

It’s considered an honour to pour for the other person, so the smaller the cup, the more you can pour for the other person and this is a very classic example of dining in Japan, people grabbing the bottle from the other person and filling the cup very aggressively.

What temperature do you heat sake to?

Generally “Nurukan”, 104°F (40°C) to “Jokan” 113°F (45°C) is the ideal temperature for Hot Sake, however preferences vary greatly from person to person. Have fun experimenting with different temperatures to see which one is best for you.

What is the best way to warm sake?

Warming Sake Sake is easily warmed by placing a filled flask in a saucepan of hot water or in a microwave. However, allowing a chilled sake to warm up and into room temperature, tasting it all the while, is an excellent way to find what works best for a given sake.

What is the best hot sake?

Guinomi is a Sake cup, slightly larger than Ochoko. Apart from size, Guinomi follows the same characteristics as Ochoko. Guinomi made from pottery with rough texture is the best for hot Sake.

What is hot sake?

Typically, hot sake is a winter drink, and high-grade sake is not drunk hot, because the flavors and aromas will be lost. This masking of flavor is the reason that low-quality and old sake is often served hot. There are gradations of temperature both for chilling and heating, about every 5 °C (9.0 °F),…