Serving and Drinking Vessels Lexicon

Table of contents

SAKÉ SERVING AND DRINKING VESSELS (A to K)

Saké can be enjoyed both chilled, at room temperature, warmed or piping hot. In a hot environment such as during a hot summer a chilled saké seems like a natural choice. In Japan warm/hot sakés are throughly enjoyed during the winter season.

But there is also an important underlying reason why sakés are served and enjoyed at different temperature levels. As a general rule, unpasteurised sakés, ginjo and daiginjo grade sakés and sparkling sakés which are high in aromatics are best served chilled and not warm or hot as the delicate fragrance of fruits, flowers and the sensation of freshness dissipates at higher temperatures. Sakés that have less aromatics but higher acidity, a fuller body with plenty of umami are recommended to be enjoyed warm, hot or at room temperature. Higher temperatures tend to bring out the best expressions of these types of sakés such as a junmai, yamahai or the laborously produced kimoto style saké.

Recommended Saké Serving Temperatures

Cold : 0°C - 5°C

Chilled : 5°C - 15°C

Lightly Chilled : 16°C – 18°C

Room Temperature : 19°C - 25°C

Warm : 26°C – 35°C

Hot : 36°C – 45°C

Very Hot : 46°C - 60°C

Saké Storage

It is recommended to store saké bottles in the refrigerator (0°C – 5°C) expecially so for unpasterised sakés (Namazake) or chiller (10°C – 13°C) to maintain its freshness. An unfinished bottle of saké can be kept in the fridge/chiller and will still be enjoyable but its freshness and initial aromas will slowly diminish making the saké milder compared to when it was first opened and consumed. Some consumers and connoiseurs do enjoy this milder sensation.

If a fridge or chiller is not available, store saké bottles in a cool and dark area away from sunlight or UV light.

Most saké brewers encourage consumers to enjoy their sakés fresh within a timeframe of 1 – 2 years to experience as close to what their had intended their sakés to taste like. But it does not mean that the saké will go bad after 2 years just that it will not taste as fresh and with some ageing notes developing in the bottle. This flavour profile can be quite desireable for some consumers too.

Saké bottles are best stored in an upright position to lessen the contact with the screw cap. As sakés in general are not bottled with a cork so there is no need to store sakés lying down or horizontally to prevent the cork from drying out like wines.

Serving Vessels

The are many types of materials that can be used to make saké wares. These can range from ceramics, porcelain, glass, wood and metals such as gold, silver, pewter, tin, etc.

Some common types of saké wares for drinking :

O-choko/ Small saké cup − These are the traditional cylindrical small saké cups that are more commonly seen in a Japanese restaurant setting.

Guinomi − A slightly bigger sized cup compared to the o-choko. Sake can be poured straight from the sake bottle into a guinomi cup.

Masu − A square box that is made of Japanese cypress wood. Originally the masu was used as a measurement instrument for agricuture produce such as rice. An ichi-go masu contains 180ml of saké, so a regular sized bottle of saké (720ml) can serve 4 masu filled to the brim. The masu is still widely used especially during a kagami-biraki ceremony in Japan. − In a restaurant, sometimes a small glass cup is put into the masu and saké is poured into the cup till it overflows into the masu. This is to demostrate the generosity of the server by offering more than the customer ordered.

Sakazuki - A shorter, wide mouth and almost flat shaped cup. Used mainly during ceremonies and festivities, such as during a Japanese Shinto wedding ceremony where the bride and bridegroom take turns to take 3 sips of saké from the cups.

Wine Glass − The usage of wine glasses is becoming more prominent as consumers learn to appreciate the highly frangrant ginjo and daiginjo sakés. The shape and depth of wine glasses help to capture and retain the aromas better than the shallow and small traditional cups.

Common types of saké servers

Chirori − A type of small pot that is usually made of metal with a higher heat transfer rate such as tin. After saké has been poured into the chirori, it is put into hot water to warm it up before serving at the required temperature.

Katakuchi − A wide mouth carafe with a little spout to pour chilled saké into saké cups or glasses.

Tokkuri − A small bottle with a narrow turtle neck that can be used to serve both hot and chilled sakés.

Ceramic and porcelain wares

Akita Prefecture – Kutani

Okayama – Bizen

Edo Kiriko/ Satsuma Kiriko