Sake - Traditional Japanese drink
Ishikari Japanese sake from
Hokkaido
Sake literally means any alcohol. Nihonshu, is the Japanese ricewine- sake. Sake is milder and totally different drink than popular drink shochu. It is enjoyed in weddings and funerals and in formal meetings taking place in a restaurant or bar. Some enjoy sake in festivals such as Hanami, a traditional cherry flower viewing festival, and some simply after dinner at home. Certain types of sake are enjoyed hot. It's been warmed in special designed bottle that is only used for sake, known as tokkuri.
Sake sometimes called rice wine, is a product of brewing and has about 14% of alcohol. This is different from the distilled Okinawan awamori sake.
If you go to a crocery store in Japan you will notice that there is a sake shelf, full of different brands. The price scale is enormous, you can get a bottle of sake with less than 1000 yen or buy one that cost 50 000 or virtually anything.
However if you consider to buy a sake as a formal gift, it's often good to buy little a bit more expensive rather than one of those 1000 yen bottles. In Japanese liquor stores they can decorate the bottle to look like a nice gift - also they can advice you which to choose. However, if you plan to buy sake as a souvenir from Japan, you might as well go with the cheapest one - probably its better than any imports (Gekkeikan) anyway.
When following the tradition, pouring sake is supposed to be done by the person sitting next to you and you should always pass this on to him / her. In Japanese tradition, woman / wife will be the one serving sake for the man.
Amazake is a sweet sake which doesn't have much alcohol.
(Note: It is polite to add respective prefix "o" when asking for sake. O-sake kudasai.)
