Sake: A Drinker's Guide (Paperback)

~ Hiroshi Kondo (Author) "The Kojiki, one of Japan's oldest historical chronicles, traces the origin of sake to the age of the gods..." (more)
Key Phrases: Second Class, First Class, Closed Sundays (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This book is all you need to get started on the sake experience. Here is an expert's guide to types, tasting, and brewing methods, with a detailed list of Japan's best sakes and a no-nonsense approach to the misleading maze of ranks and gradings and labels.

Here is a home entertainer's guide to serving--warm, but not hot, please, and how about on the rocks? or sake cocktails? and to the varied cuisine that has developed around sake drinking, with recipes for easy-to-make Japanese foods you and your friends can enjoy with sake throughout the year.

For travelers to Japan there are helpful sections on Japanese drinking places and on ordering, toasting, and banqueting. For North American readers, there is information on brewers and the major imported brands available in the United States.

Finally, for lovers of tradition--and what is drink without tradition?--page after page of authentic sake lore, from the age of the gods to the present day, offer a beautifully illustrated celebration of the sophisticated art of imbibing in Japan. Sake, you will discover, has always been Japan's essential oil of human relations, the great relaxer after a busy day. If you're a person who can talk fluently about sake, you're talking a language your Japanese friends and business colleagues will really understand.

So kampai! Here's to a luscious brew! The next time you go to a liquor store or restaurant, take this book. Select with confidence and know what you're drinking. And the next time you have friends over, treat them to sake.

About the Author

Hiroshi Kondo was born in Tokyo in 1924 and has a degree in agricultural science from Kyushu University. He writes frequently on food and culture in Japan.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Kodansha International (JPN) (July 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 4770016549
• ISBN-13: 978-4770016546
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,442,181 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars PRETTY GOOD BOOK, October 13, 2006

By	K. Straley (Kansas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Sake: A Drinker's Guide gives a good overview of Sake, covering most questions that the casual reader might have about this wonderful drink. Production, grading, food to serve with, history, etc. are all covered. The depth of the writing is about on-par with a decent magazine article, and the book conveys its information quickly. A fairly good introduction to sake.