What’s better than a Sunday supper with friends? A Sunday supper with friends, fresh summer rolls, about 75 handmade gyoza and several bottles of sake and shochu. No wine on this occasion! This week has been a bit of a distilled spirit theme, so let’s run with it. I broke down the 411 on grappa last time and now I will explore the Great Sake-Shochu Debate of December 2009.
The night before the dinner party, I walked into my local liquor store and went straight for the “sake section.” Well, less of a section really and more like 8 bottles crammed onto a lonely back shelf. I saw the familiar Gekkeikan green bottle and decided to steer clear of that in favor of something new. After 5 minutes of staring and squinting, I picked the bottle with the prettiest label. Yes, I am guilty of the “I don’t know what is good so I am going for aesthetics” purchase. When I arrived to my friend’s home I was alerted to the fact that I had indeed not purchased sake, but shochu instead.
Other than the obvious higher alcohol percentage we could read on the mostly Japanese label, we wondered what else exactly was the difference?
Let’s break it down as simply as possible:
Sake- in Japan, a word generally applied to all kinds of alcohol. Although in the States it is more commonly known as that clear stuff you can make a “bomb” out of with a glass of beer. To be specific, it is a fermented/brewed beverage made from rice. Usually aged 6 months, bottled and meant to be consumed soon after. Alcohol percentage- around 15%.
Shochu- (soju in Korean) a distilled beverage made from one of several different types of materials, including, but not limited to rice, barley, buckwheat, sweet potato and even chestnuts. Alcohol percentage- 25-35 %.
Simple enough. The winner of the heated debate? Who knows. Regardless, it was chilled, the gyoza was warm and the laughs were abundant. Good enough for us.
And now back to some wine!
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