Los Angeles Gudong: Sake is also intoxicating

Los Angeles Gudong: Sake is also intoxicating As expected, sake finally drifted away from the Sea of ​​Japan and flowed to countries around the world. Holding a drum and lying on flowers, One drop into the soul, Plum blossoms in the cold, Tengu dance...

Los Angeles Gudong: Sake is also intoxicating As expected, sake finally drifted away from the Sea of ​​Japan and flowed to countries around the world. The three-dimensional short sentences, vivid adjectives, and familiar names are splashed on bottles that are both ancient and modern, and full of interest, which constitute the infinite charm of Japanese sake. Japanese brewing technology, deeply constrained by Bushido culture, is rigorous and uniform. It is not as explosive and potent as Chinese koji or Russian Volga, nor is it as fragrant and fragrant as French Cognac or California's Nipa Basin red wine. Instead, intentionally or unintentionally, the Japanese's dual character of being well-behaved on the surface and cynical on the inside has been cleverly put into bottles, turning them into small Japans. And this, for a stranger who doesn't know much about the nature of alcohol and Japanese people's customs, is like the concise travel guide in his hand, which is a good medium. The so-called sake is actually rice wine. It does not use grapes as its raw material, but the quality and grade of the wine are determined by the purity of the rice. If 40% of the surface impurities (rice bran) of the rice are ground away, the rice polishing ratio is 60%. Among the eight varieties of the four major sake breweries (ginjo, daiginjo, junmai sake, and honshu), ginjo, junmai daiginjo, special junmai sake, and special honshu, etc., all belong to this level of sake. Of course, the higher the rice polishing ratio (the smaller the number), the stronger the aroma and the clearer the wine quality. For example, if there is only 50% Daiginjo and Junmai Daiginjo, it is considered a luxury Japanese sake; while as high as 70% (only 30% is removed), Junmai sake and Honjozo are relatively cheap. In addition, due to different brewing and storage methods, sake is divided into ordinary sake, original sake, raw sake, mud sake, raw sake, and ancient sake. However, the raw material is still rice, and the quality of wine is still based on the ratio of polished rice. Every bottle of sake has a clear label. The density, acidity and spiciness of wine are all measured from 1 to 6, while the alcohol content is mostly between 15% and 16%. Even if the original wine is not diluted and filtered, it does not exceed 20%. Therefore, some people who are used to drinking strong liquor may feel that sake is bland and tasteless. Sometimes even Japanese people may have this illusion and end up drinking a few too many glasses without realizing it and end up drunk on the streets. Ginjo and Daiginjo, which have a higher rice polishing rate and have a smoother and more delicate taste, are best served cold. When it is served in a translucent glass, there is a thin layer of mist floating on it, which already has a refreshing coolness. When you take a sip, the fragrance is sweet and refreshing, which really refreshes your mind and wakes up your stomach! On the contrary, junmai sake and honjozo, which have a lower rice polishing rate and a more solid and heavy alcohol quality, should be drunk warm. A temperature of about 60 degrees Celsius is most conducive to the dispersion of wine aroma. Especially in winter, if you hold a thick earthenware cup in your hands and take a few sips slowly, as mentioned in my book "Cheers", a warm current will flow through your whole body, making you extremely comfortable. This is the charm of sake, and it is also something that ordinary wine lacks. So, is there anything we can be picky about about sake? This time, the Japanese are surprisingly honest, and the word "clear" at the beginning is no longer self-defeating. Because if it is clear, it will inevitably be thin and sparse, which is what I mentioned above and will be bland and tasteless. You know, because we are used to drinking strong wine, we often call wine yellow soup. As the name suggests, soup is more substantial and rich than wine in terms of quality and quantity. The Japanese were probably aware of this, so they created a kind of turbid sake, which is to deliberately leave the rice residue during brewing and press it. In our words, it turns the wine into white soup. In this way, when you drink it, it will have a texture instead of being bland. What makes no sense is that they call this kind of wine Li Bai turbid wine. Could it be that our great poet is so "turbid"? Many times, people like to associate wine with women. Speaking of which, sake is indeed a bit like Japanese women. They don't get drunk as soon as they drink it, or become hot when they touch it. Instead, they are delicate, graceful, and affectionate. They are content to be an ordinary wife instead of a vigorous lover. However, for some reason, Japanese men would rather have a glass of light wine than a soft and soft woman. They go out to get drunk every night, completely ignoring their wives. If sake can be sold all over the world, women in the world will be miserable!