Boston Wine Expo 2001 -
Sake & Sushi Tasting

Now, on to the tasting. We've tried Momokawa sakes many times so we were prepared for how nicely these tasted. The four from Momokawa were the Silver, Diamond, pearl, and Asian Pear. They explained how their sakes should be served cool, and that even 'warm' sake should 'never be served warmer than a lover's touch.' If you get served piping-hot sake at your local restaurant, send it back!

The story is that during World War 2, US soldiers in Japan wanted to have sake because it was alcoholic. They were warned that it was unsafe, and that they should boil it for safety. This has now become a tradition for many US sake drinkers.

The Sake we Tried

The Silver had a hint of green apple in its flavor, and went extremely well with the sushi they served. The Diamond is the high end sake they serve, and was very smooth and clean tasting. This would go well with seafood. The Pearl is the low-filtered, cloudy sake with a rich, almost coconut flavor. This would be great with spicy foods, as it coats your tongue.

The final, an Asian Pear, is a sake with natural pear flavors added. They did this for the US market, to try to encourage non-sake drinkers to at least give it a try. These have been quite successful. The pear is light, fruity, and would go very nicely with a salad.

They explained how these flavored sakes are very popular in Florida and Puerto Rico, where they make a variety of cocktails out of them. The sakes have no sulfites or preservatives in them, making them easier for people with allergies to drink.

We had a long discussion about how alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream. Some believed that it is simply absorbed in the mouth and stomach into the blood, while others contended that the alcohol actually gets in through the bone marrow so that those with 'large bones' have more marrow and therefore can tolerate alcohol more. Look for more about this as we investigate further.

The Sake & Sushi from Japan

Boston Expo 2001 Main Page