For heaven's sake

Given that there have been no signs of a let-up in London's love affair with Japanese food, the hot tip for this year's fashionable drink has to be sake.

Already, the capital's mixologists are having a field day with it, conjuring up cocktails from the Tokyo Rose (Wyborowa vodka, sake and Midori liqueur) and MX3 (Wyborowa, sake and Lipovitan liqueur) at the new Yo! Below in Clerkenwell, to the fruit, gin and sake-based martinis at Ubon in Canary Wharf such as the Lychee Martini (gin, sake, lychee, lime and cranberry juice).

Although sake is classified in Japan as a wine, the way it's produced is more like a beer, and its final strength more like a sherry. It's made from rice but has a slight grainy flavour reminiscent of a lowland malt whisky, and it is made in a range of styles from dry to sweet.

There's also a huge range of different qualities from quite basic sake - often used for marinating and cooking food - to the top ginjoshu sakes (the suffix "-shu" means wine) that can sell for as much as a bottle of fine wine.

Sake is differentiated by whether extra alcohol is added and how much of the surface of the rice grain is removed - the top quality is only based on the inner 30%. The four main types are Junmai, which is brewed with rice, water and yeast, with no added alcohol; Honjozo, which has a little extra alcohol added to enhance its aroma (as much as 25% of the total alcohol content); Ginjo, which is sake made from rice polished to 60% of its original size; and Daiginjo, which is made from rice where 50% of the original kernel is removed. The latter two are regarded as the finest sakes.

You can find more information in a useful book, Sake: Pure and Simple by Griffith Frost and John Gauntner, or on Gauntner's Website at www.sake-world.com.

In Japan, where drinking is much more closely allied to food, sake is only drunk through the preliminary stages of a meal, finishing before rice is served. Traditionally, that would have also excluded sushi, though these days the break is more likely to be made before the final bowl of rice. Sake is also rarely served hot except in wintertime. "Only cheaper sake should be served warm, and even then not too warm," say Frost and Gauntner. A restaurant in Ebisu on my recent visit to Tokyo served frozen sake - a bit like a margarita.

The most innovative sakes are being produced in the USA, where the cost of production is 10%-25% less than in Japan. Ian Haffety of the Distinctive Drinks Co of Sheffield has been importing a range of flavoured sakes from SakeOne in Oregon under the Momokawa label, which are sold in flights by Yo! Below.

Flavours include Yuzu (Japanese citrus) Hazelnut, Asian Pear and Raspberry. There's also an unflavoured range - Diamond, Pearl, Silver (particularly recommended for cocktails) and Ruby, rated the best US sake in 1999 and a good starting point for first-time sake drinkers.

Innovative and traditional

Despite the initial unfamiliarity of its taste, Haffety believes that sake will catch on, particularly in cocktails. The company has been working with Sebastian Raeburn of Tsunami in the City of London to develop an innovative range, from the relatively simple Sake Greyhound (equal parts of Momokawa Silver sake and grapefruit juice, over crushed ice) to the funky Black Sea, with squid ink and fresh ground coriander root. More traditional flavours are available from Japanese supermarkets such as Arigato in London's Brewer Street.

Another vital factor that will contribute to sake's success is how it is served and stored. Frost and Gaunter stress that sake must be drunk fresh, within 12 months (preferably six) of purchase. It should also be stored at cellar temperature and away from direct light.

But the biggest potential benefit could be that sake doesn't give you a hangover - no sulphur is used and the congeners are removed by the milling process. This is one reason for its popularity in the USA, where consumption doubled from 1990 to 1995, doubled again from 1996 to 1998, and was set to triple by the end of 2000. Griffith Frost of SakeOne in Oregon predicts that, before long, one in five glasses of wine consumed in the USA will be a sake.

You can contact the Distinctive Drinks Co on 0114 255 2002 or e-mail sake@distinctivedrinks.com.