As the national beverage of Japan, sake is often served during religious ceremonies, court festivals and any special event, back in the old days. Sake brewing was restricted to mostly temples and shrines and only from the 20th century did sake-brewing technology grow by leaps and bounds. Today sake has become a world beverage with breweries springing up outside of Japan. The drinking of sake has also taken on a more social trend.
Sake is made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. The percentage of bran removal then determines the strength and quality of the sake. Addition of brewer’s alcohol is another determining factor.
Like wine making, sake brewing produces so many types of sake, depending on the type of rice used, the techniques, water and whether alcohol has been added.
In a recent visit to the Sake Washoku Exhibition in The Cube at Isetan The Japan Store, I had a whirlwind tutoring on the types of sake. While swirling sake on my tongue, I learned how to differentiate between a junmai and a junmaidaiginjo sake. After tasting a variety of sake ranging from jukushu to junshu, I finally decided on my favourite range: junmaidaiginjo, the highest quality sake brewed from pure Koji rice.
If you are a Japanese sake lover or simply would like to know more about sake, you should so make your way over to CUBE_1 for some great sake joy! During this Washoku exhibition featuring 45 types of sake from 9 areas in Japan, you can have a cup of sake at only RM5-RM20 or a sake flight set at RM20 for 3 cups.
I was told this bottle would make a lovely gift!
However, if you are there during their HAPPY HOUR session – weekdays from 11am till 7pm, there is a 20% discount for 5 cups of sake and above (except for the sake flights). That’s totally value-for-money, if you ask me! It’s all happening until 25 January 2018 at:
Venue: 3F THE CUBE / CUBE_1 (ISETAN The Japan Store Kuala Lumpur)
Opening Hours: 11:00am-9:00pm
Admission: Free
More information here:
http://www.cube1kl.com/ Facebook:Cube1kl Instagram:cube1kl