Japan drinks

In Japan permanently popular is a rice wine, called sakey. For more then 2000 years this drink plays a great role in life and culture of Japan, this long has a sakey preparing skill developed in every region of the country. Today there are more then 3000 producers of this drink. They consider the best sakey prepared in central Japan: in prefectures Hugo and Kyoto, but every region is known because of its sort of rice wine. According to traditional Japanese views there must be a harmony between 5 tastes in real sakey, they are: sweetness, poignancy, bitter taste, sourness and acerbity.

Sakey emphasizes the taste of the food and, at the same time, softens the strong taste of meat and sea products. As the result sakey is also used as a dressing to Japanese and European dishes ? it gives them a new taste.

Sakey is a natural alcoholic drink, which comes out as a result of fermentation, it classified in general category together with wine and bear. Its strength is not higher then 16 degrees. Preparing sakey they use not more then rice ferment, dry rice and water with minimal content of iron and magnesium. The mixture of these products ferments in the vats for about 20 days, then it is squashed, filtered, bottled or barreled. The dry rest is used for the vegetable marinade. To get a high quality drink one needs to use only the best rice. They consider best only the sort called ?sunset? ? it is cultivated only for making sakey. Wine, made of it, has a high reputation and is known for its characteristics and quality.

Japanese drink sakey cold or warm ? it depends on a season, type of the drink and consuming style. Japanese language includes special words for the wine with different temperature. Warm sakey is called Kup. In restaurants Kup is served in ceramic bottles, called tokkury, the neck of tit is so hot one can?t touch it.

The name of the cold sakey is Shua. It is special because of its fresh fruit taste, that?s why Shua is consumed mostly in a hot weather. On ceremonial arrangements the national rice drink, spiced with herbs and decorated with flower petals, is served in decorated porcelain or wooden cups. Tradition demands one to hold the cup in one?s hand in such way, that there would only a little section left to place it to the lips.

Depending on the taste, color and smell there are different sorts of sakey: sweetish sakey with fruit or flower aroma, half-dry sakey with fresh taste, sakey with light mint aroma and rich soft taste, spicy sakey, which has light-golden color, a taste of nuts and the smell of sherry.

The production of sakey in Japan went right in the third century B.C. s little later after the rice cultivating began. The first written mentioning about consuming rice wine is dated 300 years B.C. Sakey is often associated with religious holidays and rituals as in the beginning in ancient Japan, when sakey was made only in emperor?s castle or temples. Today none of the traditional seremony in Japan dispenses with this national drink.

Besides rice wine beer is also very popular in Japan. In many bars and pubs there are special beer halls, in summer they are moved outside or on the roofs of big shops or department stores. Many Japanese shop marks of the beer are made on the basis of rice.

Japanese drink whiskey in a very special way ? with ice cream and mineral water. This strange cocktail called mizuwari is a widespread extravagance of all Japanese.

In traditional Japanese pub eppai nomia, which can be found by the curtain made of laces, saitu is often proposed. This drink is made of corn alcohol, sweet potatoes and sugar cane, and reminds of vodka. One should drink it while hot, adding hot water in to the glass.

As in many countries of the world in Japan there are rules of behavior at table, generated ages ago. First of all, Japanese almost never propose toasts, except the traditional exclamation ?kumpai!? - that means, ?I drink to your health!? At the Japanese table it goes against the rules to fill your glass yourself: usually the waiter or table neighbor does this. If you want your glass filed, you have to take it in your hands. As a rule the one who pours takes the bottle with alcohol and waits for the guests to take their glasses, if nobody does ? nobody wants to drink. The order of filling the glass: if the guest wants to drink, he must turn the glass over to show it is empty, and then return it in to the starting position and wait. One should not drink all at a draught ? one should make a small gulp and put the glass on the table.