Whether you’re trying sake for the first time or you’re looking for a way to enhance your sake drinking experience, a tasting session can help you understand the complexity of this traditional Japanese beverage.
How Do You Properly Taste Sake?
Sake tasting etiquette is similar to wine tasting etiquette. You want to savor it, taking in every aspect of the drink before, during and after each sip, to get the full experience of each variety you try.
1. Sight
First, get a good look at the sake after pouring it into the glass. Swirl it around a few times and hold it up to the light, looking for the following characteristics:
- Transparency: Clarity is a big factor in identifying quality in sake. Most sakes should be clear, without floating sediment or haziness. The exception to this rule is Nigori sake, which you should expect to be cloudy.
- Color: Sake is typically transparent, with a slight straw-yellow or greenish tint. Nigori sake is usually pale and white.
- Viscosity: Is the sake thick and syrupy, or is it thin and fluid? Sweeter sakes tend to be more viscous due to their higher sugar content, while drier ones are usually more liquid.
2. Smell
Swirl your glass slightly to release the aromas and take a gentle whiff. Depending on the type of sake you’re tasting, you may smell some of the following aromatic notes:
- Fruity
- Floral
- Caramel
- Nutty
- Earthy
- Smoky
- Spicy
Keep the aroma you identified in mind as you move on to the next step — it can totally change what the sake tastes like.
3. Palate
Now you’re finally ready to try the sake. Take slow sips, allowing the sake to wash over every corner of your tongue and mouth before swallowing. Due to the location of certain tastebuds, the flavor will change slightly as it moves through your mouth.
Consider the following as you sip:
- Mouthfeel and texture: Does it feel smooth and silky in your mouth, or are you picking up a little texture? For example, an unfiltered sake might feel creamy, dense or even chewy.
- Complexity: You might detect specific flavors and layers in the sake, like banana, melon, cream, cereal and oak.
- Body: Does the sake have a full, intense flavor, or is it lighter and more delicate?
- Finish and aftertaste: While sake should not leave as long of an impression as wine, you might notice a subtle lingering taste after swallowing.
The flavor will usually match the aroma — for example, if you smelled fruity notes in the previous step, you can typically expect the sake to be sweeter and more fruit-forward.
More complex sakes will often feature multiple different flavors, some of which you may not be able to detect from aroma alone.
4. Overall Impressions
Take a few moments after your final sip to consider the impression it left behind:
- Complexity: How layered was the sake in its flavors and aromas? Could you pick out any specific notes? Did the flavor evolve as you sipped it?
- Balance: How well balanced was the overall experience? Were there any dominant characteristics of the sake that you noticed, or did its flavors harmonize well together?
- Enjoyment: Most importantly, did you like it? Whatever the experts might say about a particular sake, your opinion is your own. You could agree with the label’s description of each sake you try, but you could also find that your tastes are completely different!
Once you’ve come to a conclusion, we recommend jotting it down somewhere so you know which sakes to repurchase in the future. You could even create a sake tasting journal if you plan to dive deeper into the world of sake!
What Flavors Should You Look For?
Once you know what to look for, understanding sake flavors is a breeze. First, let’s expand your sake tasting vocabulary with this crash course in flavors.
The first characteristic you’ll notice is the sake’s dryness (karami) or sweetness (amami):
- Karami: A drier sake contains less residual sugar and more acid, which creates a cleaner, shorter finish and a lighter mouthfeel.
- Amami: Sweeter sakes are higher in sugar and lower in acid, which are ideal conditions for more delicate, fruity flavors to shine through.
The sake meter value (SMV), or nihonshudo, is the system used to rate a sake’s dryness vs. sweetness. It measures sake on a scale from positive 15 to negative 15, where a higher number indicates a dry sake and a lower number indicates a sweet one.
The other three key sake flavors include:
- Bitterness (nigami): Although sake is mostly sweet, you may notice a slight hint of bitterness in the finish and aftertaste as it flows over the back of your tongue.
- Tartness (shibumi): This refers to the drink’s overall astringency on the tongue. Some brewing methods result in tarter sakes.
- Acidity (sanmi): While all sake is acidic, the amount of acid in a sake can dramatically impact its overall texture and flavor profile. The more acidic a sake is, the lighter it will taste. Sakes containing less acid will taste sweeter with a richer mouthfeel.
Many professional Japanese sake tasters have also begun using the word umami to describe sakes, which can refer to savoriness, meatiness or just deliciousness. A higher concentration of specific amino acids, such as glutamic acid, boosts a sake’s umami flavor.
More Sake Tasting Tips and Tricks
Here are some more pro tips for getting the full sake tasting experience:
- Use the right glassware: Although serving hot sake in a ceramic flask (tokkuri) and cups (ochoko and guinomi) creates a traditional atmosphere, you have other glassware options. For example, many sommeliers recommend sampling chilled sake in white wine glasses because the taller bulbs allow the sake to fully express its aromas.
- Less is more: Tasting too many sakes in a single sitting can make it difficult to properly identify the differences between each one. We recommend limiting your list to a maximum of six sakes for best results.
- Pair with small plates: Serve appetizers and other small bites with each sake to see how different varieties pair with certain types of food. Sake varieties for beginners will typically be more versatile, with many possible pairings outside of traditional Japanese cuisine.
- Experiment with temperature: Junmai sake is incredibly versatile, with a flavor profile that can change depending on its serving temperature. We recommend trying each Junmai sake three times to get the full range of flavors — once straight out of the fridge, once after it’s warmed to room temperature and once after heating it up.
A quick note on temperature — while Junmai sake can be served at almost any temperature, more delicate varieties like Ginjo, Daiginjo and Nigori should remain chilled to preserve their flavors.
Get Started With Takara Sake USA
Every sip of sake is complex, and enjoying your sake in a tasting session with friends is a great way to fully experience this iconic drink.
Takara Sake USA is one of the best sake brands for beginners. We can help you make your first tasting a smash hit with our wide selection of high-quality sakes Browse our products online to get started!
Or, if you prefer to follow an expert, our specialists lead virtual sake tastings via Zoom every Wednesday evening. Learn more about how to participate on our Virtual Sake Tasting page.
