297313 Wed Jun 02 12:09:37 -0700 2004 5 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1640205 A little ashamed to admit it but I enjoy the heated sake they serve in some restaurants in the Boston area. From what I hear though, the best sake is served chilled. Anyone out there have any recommendations as to the best brands to try? Thanks. Wed Jun 02 12:09:37 -0700 2004 0 DougMac 1 1640211 I have no recommendation. But I do want to say there is no need to be ashamed to like warm sake, or anything for that matter. Chowhound is not one of "those" boards... I love warm sake too.. Wed Jun 02 12:36:07 -0700 2004 1640205 0 Michele Cindy 1 1640213 Like you, I began drinking hot sake--in fact, for years, that's all I tried. But my local sushiya started giving me tastes of cold sake, and suddenly, I realized that there was better stuff. Now, my favorite sushi bar (no where near Boston) actually offers sake samplers--where one can taste and compare 3 different sakes without knowing their identity. A blind tasting. So over the last couple of years, I've gotten to taste many different kinds. Oddly, I haven't found that price correlates with appeal to my palate, though that may say more about my palate than about sake. In any case, I would suggest trying to locate a place where you can sample many varieties and find which ones you like the most. By the way, two varieties that I remember that I have enjoyed are Suishen (sp?) and Kurosawa (which is not expensive). You results may (and probably will) differ. ed Wed Jun 02 12:39:36 -0700 2004 1640205 0 e.d. 1 1640226 Sake is meant to be drunk right away, at max within 6-8 months. Each year different Sakagura's (Sake brewery's) have different sake's, even when they try to be as consistant as possible. So reccomending a sake one year doesn't mean it will be the same the next year. Also there are thousands of sakaguras in Japan. The best thing is to educate yourself on the TYPES/STYLES of sake, find the styles you like, then use that as a way to try new sakes. Then just keep on trying them. Some are relatively inexpensive at $10-40 a bottle, some are dirt cheap at $8 a magnum, and some are pricey at up to $200 a bottle. Also expect all sake bottles to have screw caps. Sake is very prone to oxidization which is why it has to be drunk within less than a year (except for the rare aged sake) and screw top bottles are the best for keeping the sake (or wine for that matter) in the best possible condition. The best website to get this info is John gautners site. See link below. Link: http://www.sake-world.com/ Image: http://www.sake-world.com/assets/images/book-sake-companion-small.gif Wed Jun 02 14:12:58 -0700 2004 1640205 0 The Rogue 2 1640229 Thanks for the thorough reply. It seems there is no quick answer and self education is the only way to go. The sushi bar sampler sounds like a good way to start. Interesting that not all good sake is *necessarily* served chilled. i appreciate the help. Wed Jun 02 14:27:25 -0700 2004 1640226 0 Doug Mac 1 1640272 In Boston, some sakes that are readily available which you might look for include: Kimoto honjyozo, Gekkeikan (sp?) horin daiginjo, Wakatake onikoroshi (both ginjo and daiginjo grades are readily available, try both) For something a bit sweeter, try Seiryo kijoshu. Wed Jun 02 16:57:48 -0700 2004 1640205 0 barleywino