Welcome to Drink, a weekly column devoted to wine, spirits
and beer. This is the place to soak up the latest news and
trends in potent potables. But let's start things off on a
more traditional note. Like squeezing the secrets out of saké.
"It's sak-ay not sak-key," Hank Muramatsu
of local wine distributor La France corrected me when I
called him up to talk saké. The rice wine, also known
as the drink of the gods, is made of polished rice, water,
yeast and koji-kin (an enzyme), fermented in a manner
very similar to beer. Saké has an alcohol content
of about 15 percent, like that of wine, but has a lower
acidity so it sits smoothly in the stomach. Free of sulfites,
premium saké leaves you virtually hangover-free.
Muramatsu let me in another secret: Most Japanese-Americans,
himself included, don't drink much of the stuff. Saké
drinkers in this country are usually Westerners who've been
to Japan and started drinking it there. But all it takes
is a flip through local bar menus to figure out that saké
may be tomorrow's drink du jour, especially with
the arrival of infused sakés.
Just last year SakéOne, a saké brewery located
in Forest Grove, introduced the world's first infused varieties.
The move horrified purists but has piqued the interest of
younger drinkers who enjoy--in fact, expect--experimentation
behind the bar. But will the trend cross over to tradition?
Scott Birrer, a merchandiser for Nature's Northwest, says
that so far sales remain uneven in Portland. "Introducing
premium sakés is a challenge. They should be served
slightly chilled, but most people think saké is meant
to be served warm."
"In New York and San Francisco, the saké cocktail
has been a fairly big deal," says Bill Moughan of SakéOne.
True, but when I ordered a drink I'd heard was making its
way up the West Coast called a saké bomb (an unholy
mix of saké and beer), local bartenders were flummoxed.
I decided to go to the source. The SakéOne Momokawa
factory is the eighth-largest winery in the state and the
only American-owned saké factory in the world. There,
my friends and I were given an introduction to SakéOne's
traditional line (Silver, Diamond, Ruby and the hand-filtered
Pearl) by tasting-room manager Ryan Kosmatka, followed by
tastes of the gussied-up Moonstone sakés (raspberry,
yuzu or citron, Asian pear and hazelnut).
Asian pear won out in our taste test among the infused sakés.
Among the traditionals, we liked Diamond. It was exceptionally
smooth, clean and focused. Each bottle comes with a chart
grading the contents according to fragrance, impact, sweetness
or dryness, acidity, presence and complexity, so if you
can read the label, you can learn what you like and what
to look for in your next saké.
Until then, Kanpai! That's Japanese for empty cup,
roughly translated: Bottoms up. Next week: Sure-fire love
potions and aphrodisiacs.
The Oritalia Martini
Monopolowa Vodka and Moonstone's Yuzu, a citrus-infused
saké, chilled and served with
a twist.
Oritalia, 750 SW Alder St., 295-0680.
Sakétini
Shake two and a half ounces of gin or vodka with one and
a half teaspoons of saké in a mixing glass filled
halfway with ice. Strain into a chilled martini glass with
a spear of pickled cucumber.
Fire + Ice
One small, cold can of Sapporo served alongside warm Hakutsuru
saké.
Saucebox, 214 SW Broadway, 241-3393.
Japanese Autumn
Saké with a splash of cranberry juice.
Moonstone Infused Sakés
Available at Nature's Northwest wine department.
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Willamette Week | originally
published February 2,
2000
|
