The Insider's Guide to Sake (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Sake, the dictionary says colorlessly, is a fermented liquor made from rice..." (more)
Key Phrases: sake sampler, triple sake, pure rice sake, New York, Los Angeles, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A lively, clear guide to a subject just waiting to be discovered by the inscrutable West." -- New York Times

Review

"A lively, clear guide to a subject just waiting to be discovered by the inscrutable West." -The New York Times

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Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Kodansha International (September 30, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 4770020767
• ISBN-13: 978-4770020765
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 3.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #51,648 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Guide to Sake Out There, June 23, 2000

By	o0mingmak "o0mingmak" (Honolulu) - See all my reviews

As a lover of great sake but one who did not know much about how to go about choosing it, I found this book to be very informative and entertaining at the same time. Entertaining in that this is a true "insider's guide" since the author is the only foreigner that I have heard of who has worked in a traditional sake brewery for an extended amount of time. The insights contained in this book can be found nowhere else in the English language as far as I know.

Sake, like wine, comes in many forms and can be an aquired taste. Really good sake served cold (were talking really expensive stuff) can be one of the best tasting drinks you will ever experience. Please don't judge the merits of sake by that cheap hot stuff thats often served in inexpensive Japanese restaurants.

I recommend this book for those even with a passing interest in sake - wherever you currently reside. For foreigners currently living in Japan, the book will encourage you to taste various sake available only in Japan (as you should while you are there). For those outside Japan, the book contains a very comprehensive guide to restaurants and stores that serve/sell premium sake.

Finally, I should also mention that "The Insider's Guide to Sake" is much better than other books you will find on the subject, including "The Book of Sake". It is an easy read, and is thin enough to fit in your pocket (OK, a large pocket) so that you can take it with you to the local liquor store.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Please don't heat the sake!, September 12, 2002

By	Zack Davisson "All Good Things" (Seattle, WA, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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I am glad that Philip Harper wrote "The Insider's Guide to Sake." What you have here in this little book is everything a person needs to begin their exploration into the inscrutable world of Sake.

Like many alcohols, Sake is a beverage of wildly variant qualities. Some is made to be cheap and get you drunk quick, some is made to savor and enjoy. Of course, approaching a Sake label with little Japanese ability makes it difficult to discern the difference. Even if the label is translated, the meaning is not readily clear. What makes a good Sake? What qualities should I be looking for?

This books takes that exact frame of mind, leading the novice through all stages of Sake production from rice growing to brewing methods, both traditional and modern. Sake is quality-graded by the government, and by the end of this book a drinker will be able to choose with confidence between a Junmaishu, a Hinjozu or the ultra-sake Daiginjo.

A few other benefits of this guide are a sake alphabet, with facts and useful tidbits of information spread throughout the book in alphabet format. The tasting guide offers a brief glance at a hundred or so of the available 1,000 plus Sakes. I found this to be a very useful starting place, allowing me to make an informed choice at the Sake store. (The book also shows you how to recognize a quality Sake seller. a very useful piece of information.) Depending on where you live, the sake restaurant guide is useful.

All in all, this book picked my interest in sake and transformed my casual curiosity into a full-blown investigation. Don't go into a sake shop without it!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Useful restaurant and sake guides, fascinating bkgd info, August 6, 1998

By	Mark Hasegawa-Johnson ([e-mail]) (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

The book includes two "sampler" guides: a sampler of 100-odd premium sakes (chosen somewhat arbitrarily, it seems, from the produce of the 1500-odd sake breweries in Japan), and a sampler of restaurants and bars in all large Japanese cities and a few large US and European cities where one can try premium sake. Of the two samplers, I think the second may be more useful. The average restaurant in Japan serves two kinds of sake: cold, and hot. This sampler helps those of us in search of real sake to find places to drink it -- an extremely useful piece of information.

The background information on sake brewing was fascinating, especially to a home brewer; I didn't put it down 'til I was done.