It isn't as if sake just got off the boat. Trouble is, premium sake has always been an esoteric beverage, right up there with Armagnac and Pernod. Nowadays, however, sake is rapidly acquiring a whole new following. As libations go, it can be as craftsmanly and as sophisticated as any other microbrewed beverage. Even better, as sake has burnished its image for quality, the low-grade styles that were routinely warmed up and served alongside California rolls have been replaced with the best of the best, reverently presented.
Sake begins with rice.
The difference between sake rice and ordinary rice for eating is that the key to good rice wine is to concentrate the starch in the center of each rice grain. Next, the rice is washed, soaked and steamed. As the mold penetrates the grains, enzymes convert the starch into sugar, so that the rice can be fermented into wine. The sake master then goes to work on what is called the moromi, the ideal balance of ingredients for long-term fermentation. Once a good moromi is achieved, the batch is left alone to ferment in open tanks for 18 to 32 days.