Wine, Wine Tasting, Sake, Shochu, Rare Spirits

Aug. 28, 2008 - PRLog -- The gastronomic blog: www.restaurantdiningcritiques.com will provide ongoing posts and information on various beverages including sake, shōchū, wine, beer, aperitifs, digestives, non-alcohol drinks and try to point out any health benefit that might be gained by drinking certain types.

Wine:
This is a fascinating subject that is never ending. You can never learn enough about the subject.
Sake (Nihonshu)
This is a fascinating drink made from rice, with so many varieties ranging from dry to sweet all with their own special nuances.

Shōchū:
At only 25% alcohol per volume Shōchū contains less alcohol than whisky, gin and other neutral grain spirits, although stronger than sake or wine. In Japan it is often drunk with a salted plum dropped into it. Japanese claim that it can be effective in preventing heart attacks, and diabetes. Shōchū can be made out of many different ingredients the most popular being rice, barley, sweet potato, brown sugar, soba (buckwheat), Awamori (Thai long-grain rice).
All of these different ingredients impart different flavors and in addition, where it is produced makes a difference in taste and style.

Spirits:
Aperitifs: sherry, pastis, ouzo, Campari, Suze, Byrrh, absinthe
Digestives: Cognac, Armagnac, Calvados, eaux de vie
All of these fascinating alcohols, wines and beer will be appearing in our ongoing posts. We will especially try to enlighten everyone on the amazing dimensions and depth that Sake and Shōchū possess. These two drinks: sake, which is a rice wine and shōchū a distilled spirit both are so fascinating due to the differences in flavor, and level of dryness. They are not liquids that you guzzle down without some thought process going on at the same time. These popular Japanese drinks invoke, exactly as wine does, much discussion, tasting comparisons and are intriguing because of each bottle’s minute, or in many cases, enormous differences.
I was very interested when I moved away from ordinary sake served hot, which I tried years ago and was not impressed, and started drinking the finest sakes at room temperature or chilled. Later, I started drinking expensive shōchū and comparing them and found the experience similar to wine and sake. The problem with sake and shōchū  for non-Japanese speakers/readers is the labeling on the bottle is in Japanese and since I do not read the language, this presents a problem. Fortunately many restaurants have a list with some brief English notations however; those establishments are in the minority. If you plan to visit a local bar serving sake or shōchū in Japan and if you do not read Japanese you are in trouble, as most people still do not speak English. That means you cannot ask for a suggestion or read the bottles to see where it comes from, or in the case of shōchū, even what it is distilled from, which makes things really difficult. My wife is Japanese and consequently, I am safe when I am with her although, when I am in Japan by myself this presents a problem!

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Kit Marshal offers expert advice and tips regarding all aspects of food and drink. You can still find good restaurants even on a budget.

For more information please visit:
http://restaurantdiningcritiques.com

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