“We have flights of sake,” explains Edon Kagasoff, a
bartender at White Lotus. “I’ll typically offer three of four different kinds in
one-ounce samples designed to show guests varying tastes and textures of
junmai-shu, ginjo-shu, and daiginjo-shu sake.”At Uni, Chef Ken Oringer’s
latest project, 13 types of sake, including top brands such as Ken Daiginjo and
Moriko Daiginjo, are available for guests. “We push it,” says Oringer. “We can
talk them into trying the sake, and once they do they’re hooked. They had no
idea it could be this complex. It’s not gut wrenching or high in alcohol.” The Rash Can Relish
Due to a late 19th-century levy that taxed sake at its
time of production rather than at its time of sale, most sake is meant to be
drunk within six months of production. Brewers lost money when they aged the
product rather than getting it to consumers as quickly as possible. While the
law has changed, the tradition of producing for immediate consumption took root
and remains to this day. “It’s almost a mantra,” says Gaunter. “If you want to
taste sake the way the brewer made it, drink it within six months.” Buying or
investing in most sake differs from collecting wine because of the extremely
limited potential of increasing its value through cellaring. But, as with wine,
discovering small or artisanal producers is deeply satisfying. Find the right
sake for your taste, and you will enjoy the quintessentially taste experience
known as “umami,” a Japanese word that, roughly translated, describes a taste
that goes straight to the depths of your soul.
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