Post
by exelis » 18 Aug 2006 20:45
In Oregon you are close to the best (and only domestically owned) U.S. Sake Brewery, actually. SakéOne is in Forest Grove, OR, and they put out the Momokawa brand (look for blue bottles). Personally I like their "Ruby" which is just slightly sweet (for clear saké, that is, which really isn't sweet at all), and "Pearl", which is Nigori, or unfiltered saké, like the samurai used to drink. It is sweeter by far and has a creamy texture and color from rice sediment (which should be gently shaken in the bottle before pouring).
Saké is all about the background. It's like tasting a wine, but the flavors are usually even less obvious seeing as it comes from rice, not fruit. The ruby especially shouldn't be heated like Americans often do. Drink it slightly chilled for best results. Pearl can be chilled or room temp.
High quality saké, as I implied above, doesn't give folks hangovers. The outer part of the rice that contains most of the chemicals (congeners) is milled off, leaving a very pure beverage. Congeners are really what cause most of the headaches and such of hangovers, not the alcohol itself. Of course, avoiding dehydration by drinking something non-alcoholic helps, too.
There are other good domestically made sakés, too, and many imports leave any domestic sakés in the dust (because Japan patents and closely guards rice breeds, yeast strains, etc. However, the imports are also usually much more expensive because of both shipping and taxes levied by the U.S. Government.
