disgraceful and distasteful and distilled

[wildestranger]

I have a question about sake. I am writing about a character (Eames, to be precise) who is drinking sake, with a meal, at a restaurant in Japan, and am in need of more information. I've sadly have never had this drink myself and research can only go so far, so I would be grateful for any thoughts you might have.

Stuff wot I want to know:
What does it taste like? A variety of descriptions would be great.
What food goes well with it? What might clash with the taste, what is traditionally acceptable/unacceptable?
Any traditions associated with the drink?
Any experiences you might have had drinking it in Japan?

Your thoughts and experiences would be much appreciated. It's for science PORN!

Comments

[liseuse]

I know nothing about sake, but wrdnrd knows lots about sake. I can ask her if she can help, if you'd like?

[wildestranger]

That would be wonderful, thank you!

[liseuse]

I've dropped her a link to your post!

[wrdnrd]

Behold, i am here! (WHUT?? Someone mentioned sake, okay!)

[liseuse]

It is a magic summoning word. Huzzah!

[wrdnrd]

Tho' right now i most keenly feel my lack of a sake icon. MUST RECTIFY THIS.

(Alsoalso: I think when i entered this thread so quickly i surely made that sound Gonzo does whenever he enters a scene on the Muppet Show.)

[liseuse]

I don't have a baking icon. I don't understand!

(And that reference just went whooshing over my head)

[wrdnrd]

Whooshing noise as heard here.

[wrdnrd]

I do not have experience drinking sake in Japan (yet), but i can pass that part of your query onto my partner, who does (i *think* -- maybe he just had beer while there). Is Eames drinking in a very fancy restaurant? A place that's more middling? A dive bar?

Sake, like wine, has a really broad spectrum ranging from very dry and uncomplicated to very round and full. You can find a sake to pair with any foods -- i went to a pairing event just the other week and had delicious sakes paired with everything from the salad course thru' 2 different fish courses to a very heavy tenderloin/cream sauce dish. What do you envision your Eames eating? If we start with the food, it would be easier to give you some pointers about what a paired sake might taste like.

If it is at all helpful, i maintain a sake log. I am FAR from a professional sake anything, i just like it a lot, so i can't vouch for whether my descriptions are anything like sommelier level. On the other hand, maybe it will be useful to see how an average person responds to sakes? I do note whatever information Malia, the sommelier at our local restaurant, has to say about a sake we try there.

Oh, one other question: Are you on any sort of deadline for this? I'm happy to answer questions within your timeline!

[wildestranger]

First, thank you so much for taking the trouble. As mentioned, I've never tasted sake but it seems like I'll need to rectify this soon, as it sounds delicious.

Eames is eating at Saito's house (I assume you've seen Inception?) so he would have access to high quality everything. Not a restaurant, though, and they would be eating the same food, which Saito is pairing with fancy red wine. So the food would need to fit with both, however:

1) I understand from my preliminary research that one can either match sake with food, or go for a contrasting effect. Eames needs to go for a contrasting (and surprising) effect, as this is a conversation point. So something that would be strange but potentially delicious?

2) An average person's view would be much appreciated, as I'm hoping to say something that will be both intelligible to people who've had sake and informative for those who haven't. I'm structuring the fic around five drinks Eames has with other members of the team, and while I know enough about the other drinks to make them serve the plot, I'd like to be able to say something about sake that presents it as an interesting point of contemplation. Or, I have Deep Thoughts about wine which I'm going to share in this story, but none about sake, so please help? :D?

No deadline as such - I had vaguely hoped to finish it by the weekend, but I suspect this is going to take longer than that so no rush!

[harriet_vane]

Men were forever trying to get me to drink sake in Japan. My experience of it was that it was MUCH too strong for me. It ranges from cheap and sort of sharp to expensive and very smooth. In general it struck me as being thicker than normal alcohol, almost like drinking syrup (especially the more expensive ones).

IDK if you're setting that scene in Japan, but if he's drinking with Sato then the Japanese tradition is no one EVER fills up his own glass. You always fill up someone else's, even if you're alone at a bar, or you're drinking tea or water or anything. It's insanely bad manners to pour your own, and to start a conversation or to say thank you or to prompt someone to say more you top them off, so they'd both have a sake cup and a little bottle to pour for each other. Does that make sense? It's early here.

[ignipes.livejournal.com]

Like a very dry white wine with a bite to it, is the closest comparison I can think of. There is a range of sweet to dry, I think, and it's not quite the same, but it's closer in taste to white grape wines than to (for example) distilled alcohols like whiskey or gin or whatever.

[wildestranger.livejournal.com]

Okay, that sounds both useful and delicious, thanks! I really want to have some now.

[ignipes.livejournal.com]

Also, I've only ever had it is with sushi, and it goes extremely well. It's a very clean taste, but I thought it was a bit odd with extremely spicy flavors. That might be a personal preference - I don't know what's traditional.

And now I want some too!

[ethrosdemon.livejournal.com]

There are a lot of different kinds of sake. Some you drink chilled, some hot. People drink it with or without food. You can probably google "sake pairings" to get specificities on which kind of sake goes with what food.

It tastes sweet and salty at the same time.

[stele3.insanejournal.com (from livejournal.com)]

I see you've got the descriptions above--one very important thing to note about sake customs in Japan is that you never pour your own cup of sake. You pour for someone else at the table and they or someone else pour for you. It's supposed to be an interactive, communal experience.

[jamjar.livejournal.com]

Just to say, sake the only spirit I've ever had that tasted really awful to me-- that, is there is something specifically in sake that triggers a very specific reaction where it tastes like rotten rice.

Which is weird, because I've drank other spirits that I didn't like, that tasted bad, but I could still drink them. Sake, my body just rejects. It's also annoying, because I lived in japan for two years and I wanted to like it.

Also, generally in Japan you don't pour for yourself at all*. Doesn't matter what you're drinking, the thing to do is pour for everyone else, then they pour for you. When I had work enkai, this was also a social aspect-- you'd pick up a bottle, work your way around the table, offer to pour for people you wanted to chat with, etc.

*There are exceptions, to do with relative social position, but that's more minions/subordinates-serve than anything else.