Diamond Sake

Sake is brewed like beer, using a mash of rice instead of barley or other grains. The rice is “polished” and the better the quality of sake the more polishing the rice has had. The polishing of rice is done to remove the layers of oil and protein in the rice grain. The core of the rice is mostly starch and produces the best sake. The cheaper varieties have less polishing and more protein and oils that add off flavours to the sake. This may explain why sake does not produce much, if any, head when poured. The oils and proteins in the beer brewing process account for head formation in beer.

You can serve sake in a number of ways, including cold, warm or room temperature. The serving temperature generally follows seasonal time lines. For regular beer and wine drinkers, sake may have some alcohol burn, but if you drink whisky or vodka straight, then the sake will be smooth and mellow. I find it smooth, but other reviewers noticed the alcohol (14.8% for Momokawa Diamond sake). On the nose there is a slight rice maltiness. There isn’t much acid associated with this spirit, but it does have hints of sweetness like honey or fruit. The start is light in flavor with the alcohol pleasantly hitting the back of your throat. The sake has a subtle wine like taste and then develops flavors of straw, rice and subtle fruit. The finish is more flavorful than the start and the subtle fruit flavors linger for a while. The finish is more sweet than dry.