Drink #27 Sake

3.6.2012

I love a good surprise.

What I’m finding so fun about alcohol is the variables–sometimes slight, sometimes dramatic–in each of the drinks, brands, varieties. For the most part, each grouping (beers, wines, vodkas, rums, etc.) share the same ghost story when it comes to many of their inherent flavors and profiles.

Oh sure, each beer is it’s own adventure–thank god–but even at first whiff you know it’s a beer. Same with most wines. Same with water vodka for the most part until you start to venture into the “flavored” varieties.

[mental note, create vodka line for men: flavors such as gasoline, fresh cut grass, leather, hot charcoal grill and pipe tobacco. Odd? Sure. But sales between 1am-2am would dominate–after a few drinks already–and who wouldn’t want to try a drink called a Boot & Tonic or a Landscaper’s Martini… ooh, maybe Chargrilled Mary? Eh, think about it.]

Anyway, so when I knew I would be trying sake for the first time, my simple virgin brain knew it was a wine, even if it was made with rice. And so while each wine has been vastly different, I had created a general expectation in terms of flavors, profile, etc.

Wrong. I was so wrong. But thank god the sake was so right.

The place was Sticky Rice on H St. NE, a fun, rough & tumble Asian-inspired restaurant that’s equally authentic and creatively playful in it’s offerings. Joe and I were taking Jamie–the Blue Banana’s owner–out to dinner to thank him for last month’s #firstdrinkHappyHour and this month’s dog friendly Yappy Hour. Sticky Rice was his suggestion.

Now I need to thank him again.

I’m not apt to do a full review of a restaurant on my Adventure’s blog, but let’s just say we enjoyed every order off their menu, from a bucket of tots & secret sauce to the Drawn-N-Buttered maki roll, the coconut curry noodles to the Godzirra maki roll. Oh, and if you don’t order their sticky balls, don’t even bother going. No, seriously.

I ordered a small carafe of their Momokawa Organic Nigori sake. They come to the table and pour your first shot into a tiny little thimble of a cup. Now I have some smaller but chubby little hands. So while the cup was adorable, I felt like I was drinking tea from a child’s Asian tea set.

I know it was traditional, but every glance at my baseball mitt of a hand holding that toothpaste cap made me laugh.

Right off the bat I knew this was going to be something different than expected. It was almost milky looking, not cloudy, but like chalk dust mixed well with water. And it smelled amazing, like a hint of chardonnay but with rich floral notes and a touch of coconut. I asked Jamie if I was supposed to sip or shoot the sake. His immediate smirk told me “sip” before he even had to say it.

The sake was bold. It was very floral but creamy, rich, slightly tart/slightly sweet. It as pretty alcoholy, but warm, a nice contract to the chill of the drink. I could taste layers of coconut and hits of pineapple maybe? Melon? Pear? But it wasn’t tropical–if that makes any sense.

It did have a wine like quality in it’s touch of dryness, alcohol and tannin notes, but nothing striking. It really is its own thing.

As the drink matured and warmed over the hour+ we were there, it took on a muskier flavor, seemed to become heavier, milkier and gave off a slightly medicinal flavor. It started to offer a more apple/pear finish. None of these things were off-putting in the least.

If you didn’t know, sake is called a rice wine. However, unlike traditional wine, where alcohol is produced by fermenting the sugar naturally present in fruit, sake is made through a brewing process apparently more like beer. I’m guessing because it’s sipped and not chugged, it seemed more wine-like than beer.

Unless you’re a hobo or a suburban housewife and then you’re saying to yourself, “Huh, you can chug wine! What is this guy talking about?”

Oh, and the typical alcohol content is a higher 15%. Which I couldn’t tell in the drink, but I could tell from my slight headache this morning.

It was a great drink. It was also a surprise on several levels; it went well with the meal and it was a nice, odd little contrast to the bevy of other drinks I’ve had so far. So much so, I’m adding a few more sake experiences on the list including hot sake, a sake bomb and at least one lechee & sake cocktail.

The list keeps growing while I keep drinking.

Cheers, Ben


PS: What is a Yappy Hour? Well, it’s a fun dog-friendly happy hour event on March 22nd hosted by me and the Blue Banana supporting the Washington Animal Rescue League. There will be drinks & treats for 2 and 4 legged friends alike. And 20% of all sales go to charity! I hope you can make it out!