Sake Questions.

Two questions:

1. Does an unopened bottle of Sake have a shelf life?

2. Does an opened bottle of Sake have a shelf life?

Any advice or other Sake info would be most helpful.

Mahalo!

I've had a few bottles of Sake - good stuff - for 6 years or so and each time I open one it tastes the same as the last. I've kept it a room temp.

This sounds like a Rum Numb Davey question to me.

I would imagine that unfiltered Sake would probably have a shorter shelf life than the clear stuff. Then again - what do I know?

I do know that the bottle of homemade stuff I got in Oakland was EXACTLY like moonshine. Even the buzz.

Oh yeah - unfiltered is gooooood.

I have a few books on sake but I am no expert.
They all seem to say aging an unopened bottle of sake is not a good idea and aging opened sake is a very bad idea.

The book "Sake pure and simple" states: If aged under less than ideeally contolled conditions, a sake can become cloying. It is best to consume sake soon after you purchase it. Do not try to age it in storage like you might age a fine red wine.

"The sake handbook" says: Run-of-the-mill sake does not age well and becomes unbalanced, but a decently make and properly made koshu (aged sake) has an earthy, balanced and settled flavor and fragrance that may not be the best for drinking in quantity, but can be very satifying for one glass. It has its fans and its foes.

I recomend the following books if you want know which are the best:
Sake a drinkers guide
The sake handbook
The book of sake
The insiders guide to sake

They rank the sake against each other and tell you what kind of flavors to expect in each one.

If you want to brew you own sake (perfectly legal in the USA anywhere you can make wine or beer) the I recommend this book:
Sake (U.S.A.) by Fred Eckhart

All of these book are still in print and can be found in the beer and wine section of the local book store, or of course on Amazon.com or any other internet bookstores.

[ Edited by: captnkirk 2005-10-30 13:43 ]

Ah..Sake...GOD I love the stuff.
There is a crazy proliferation of Sushi Bars in Scottsdale these days and it is so great.
I must have been an elephant seal in a former life..I crave raw fish constantly.
I guess I am a big fan of nigori, as it is a perfect foil for the umami flavors of soy and wasabi. It's creamy flavors are fantastic.
I have listed some great sakes I have tried recently. As far as, does sake have a shelf life unopened? I say that I would keep it out of sun, light, and 55 - 60F.
Opened Sake will definately start to wane and lose it's flavor.
Here are some great sakes to try with Sushi, and a primer on the types.

Kamoizumi Nigori Ginjo “Summer Snow”
http://www.worldsake.com/

Kizakura Tokuri-Ikkon Nigori Kyoto Importer Nishimoto
http://www.kizakura.co.jp/en/index.html

Rihaku Dreamy Clouds Tokubetsu Junmai Nigori Importer Vine Connections
http://vineconnections.com/sake/index.html

Gekkeikan NIGORI SAKE 300 ml
Gekkeikan Zipang Sparkling Sake Importer Sidney Frank
http://www.gekkeikan-sake.com/

Moonstone ASIAN PEAR
Moonstone PLUM
Moonstone RASPBERRY
Momokawa PEARL Nigori Genshu
HTTP://WWW.SAKEONE.COM/

Sho Chiku Bai Nigori Junmai/ Unfiltered
http://www.takarasake.com/products/sake.htm

Hakusan Plum Sake from Napa (sadly now defunct)
Hakusan NigoriI Sake
Hakusan Raspberry Sake
NAPA HAKUSAN SAKE
HAKUSAN PREMIUM SAKE
HAKUSAN SAKE
http://www.hakusan.com/index.html

Ozeki Nigori
Ozeki Sake Dry
http://www.ozekisake.com/

Nigori-sake
Nigori -"Cloudy"- sake is unfilterd or roughly filterd so that some Moromi in the fermenting tank make it into the bottle. This sake is a milky white appearance.
Nigori-sake is bold and sweet taste.

Genshu
Genshu is undiluted sake.
After filtration, sake has an alcohol content of around 19%. Most of sake on the market have been diluted with water until their alcohol contents falls to between 12 and 16%.
Genshu is full-bodied and rich taste.

Nama-sake
Nama-sake means "Draft sake".
In this sake, fresh sake is microfiltered instead of other sake is pasteurized twice, once before aging and once in the process of bottling.
Nama-sake is fruity and fresh taste with pleasant aroma.

Ginjo-shu
Ginjo-shu is a special type of Junmai-shu or Honjozo-shu, and considered the highest achievement of the brewer's art.
All the rice employed in brewing Ginjo-shu must be polished to at least 60% of its original size. Dai-Ginjo-shu is brewed with the rice polished to at least 50%. In many Ginjo-shu brewers use special yeasts in making Moto, and ferment the final mash very slowly at low temperature.
This extra effort produce a sake that is lighter, clean taste and tangy flavor and an aroma.

Honjozo-shu
In this sake, not more than 120 liters or raw alcohol per each metric ton of white rice and no glucose have been added during brewing process.Added alcohol cannnot exceed 25% of the total alcohol in the finished product.
In the U.S. it is not legal to make Honjozo-shu or to add alcohol to sake.Imported Honjozo-shu is categorized into distilled spirits.
The sake character tends to lighter than Junmai-shu.

Junmai-shu
The name means "pure rice".
Junmai-shu is sake composed of only rice, water, koji and sake yeast. No other ingredients or additives, such as alcohol or sugar, are added. The rice that has been polished to 70% or less of its original size is used to brew.
The sake character tends to have a full-bodied and slightly acidic.

Any real questions about sake should be adressed to American Expat, John Gauntner, who is a Master of Sake in Japan. He cand be contacted at:[email protected]

The MADE IN USA ( CAL ) sake is okay but doesn't compare to the stuff MADE IN JAPAN . Trust me .