CHOOSING YOUR SAKE WARE
JUNMAI
NON-JUNMAI
Junmai sake typically have higher acidity and are bolder and
more ‘ricey’ on the nose and palate. Junmai sake can have
rustic characteristics, rich in umami. and are enjoyed more
for the taste than the fragrance. Suitable sake ware are:
HONJOZO
1.
GINJO
2.
3.
Large guinomi with a tulip-shaped mouth, which
enables sake to directly hit your tongue, making sake
more fruity and full-bodied to the taste.
Earthenware guinomi create a more rounded and
integrated flavour in your mouth.
A tulip-shaped glass with a curved rim is also suitable if
you would like to enjoy Junmai in a more refreshing style.
JUNMAI GINJO
More fragrant and fruitier than Junmai, Junmai Ginjo can be
quite bold with higher acidity. It tends to have less umami
in the body in comparison to Junmai and less fragrance to
Junmai Daiginjo.
JUNMAI DAIGINJO
Light and easy drinking, it tends to have a short finish and
simple structure on the palate. Suitable sake ware are ochoko,
guinomi and simple glass cups.
Leaner and drier than Junmai Ginjo and more fragrant and
fruity than Honjozo.
DAIGINJO
The most elegant and fragrant of all on the nose; purer and
fruitier on the first attack; drier and often slightly more
alcoholic on the finish. It will have slightly less body than
Junmai Daiginjo.
For Ginjo, Daiginjo, Junmai Ginjo and Junmai Daiginjo
suitable sake ware are slightly rounded crystal glasses, shaped
in the middle like vintage champagne glasses. A closed rim
will help to capture the Ginjo fragrance, whilst a thin rim
helps you to taste the actual character of the sake.
Definitely very fragrant - in order to balance the high
fragrance, the sake needs to have good body and acidity.
It will probably have least umami of all three categories.
OTHER SAKE
SPARKLING
AGED
Champagne flute glasses are recommended for sparkling
sake, produced by both the injection method or by second
bottle fermentation.
Aged sake is sake matured typically for at least three years.
This sake tends to have an enhanced dried fruit and caramel
nose and a character of increased acidity, nuttiness and
savoury richness. Because of these strong characteristics on
the nose, porcelain guinomi are recommended to moderate
the smell and optimise the enjoyment of the rich and nutty
character of the sake.
CLOUDY
Cloudy sake is sake with sediment. As glassware would
show the sediment sticking to the side in an unappealing
way, the recommended sake ware is earthenware or
porcelain guinomi.
MUSEUM OF SAKE JOURNAL 15