Japanese sake can be enjoyed alone, or paired with various cuisines, whether it is Japanese, Western or Chinese. In pairing knowledge, crispy clean and dry sakes can match with food with lighter flavour, such as sushi, sashimi, seafood and salad; sakes with rich flavour and aroma usually pair with meat dish or other heavy flavoured food. The world of Japanese sake is quite facisnating and full of surprises, ranging from fruity and floral aroma to high complexity in flavours for people to explore.
Most Japanese sake contains 14% to 16% ABV; in comparion with other fermented alcohol, beer has only 4%-6% and wine has 8%-14%. Some sakes can reach up to 20% alcohol after completing the fermentaton and are usually be diluted with water into approximately 15%.
Alcoholic beverages can be categorized into 3 types.
1) Fermented alcohol: type of alcoholic beverage processed by yeast fermentation
2) Distilled alcohol: alcohol that are processed through distillation to produce higher ABV
3) Liqueur: fermented or distilled alcohol with supplementary ingredients like fruits and spices
Japanese sake is a type of fermented alcohol, while shochu belongs to the distilled alcohol category. In comparison with other fermented alcohols like wine and beer, Japanese sake has more complex production and longer fermentation period. The alcohol content can reach even higher than most fermented alcohol.