Pour a small cup of sake straight from the fridge and leave it on the table while you eat. Come back to it ten minutes later. A sip that seemed brisk at first might now smell a little more like pear, or a grain note might show up that you missed when it was colder. There’s no need to buy three bottles to see how much sake can change. One bottle and a few cups will do.
Chilled, around 10°C (50°F)
Ten degrees is a good starting point for a fragrant ginjo or a fresh namazake, an unpasteurized sake. It gives you the feel of a cold drink while leaving room for aromas to come through. If your first sip is straight from a very cold fridge, give the glass a few minutes and try it again. A fruity sake can seem quiet when it’s very cold, then open up as it warms in the glass. A little chilled sake alongside cold tofu or sashimi also lets you compare two delicate flavors without much else in the way.
Room temperature, around 20°C (68°F)
If someone offers sake hiya in a traditional serving context, they may mean sake at room temperature. For clearly chilled sake, you can ask for reishu. Around 20°C is a handy checkpoint for a rounded junmai. Let it sit in the glass for a moment, then look for rice, cereal or a savory finish. Try it with a roast mushroom. If your room is much warmer in summer, bring the bottle up gradually from the fridge and use a thermometer if you want to repeat the result.
Gently warmed, around 40–45°C (104–113°F)
At about 40°C you’re in nurukan territory, and at 45°C you’re around jōkan. Start at 40°C with a savory junmai or a bottle the brewer recommends for warming. You may notice more grain aroma or a fuller impression of sweetness. If the smell of alcohol starts to dominate, let the cup cool and revisit it. Around 50°C (122°F), known as atsukan, is another option when you’ve found a bottle you like warm. The numbers give you a place to start. The sake and your palate determine where you stop.
To warm sake, put a small heatproof carafe in a pan of hot water off the heat. Keep the water below the neck of the carafe. Swirl gently, check the temperature, then pour. Use a small amount so you can taste it while it’s warm and again as it cools. At the table, try the warm pour with simmered daikon or grilled mushrooms and see how it changes after a bite.
Try all three with the same bite
Use three matching cups and one sake. Pour one cool, let the second come to room temperature, and warm the third. Smell each, taste each, then go through them again with the same food. A savory junmai gives you a good chance of finding something to like at several points along the way. The best part may come near the end, when the warm cup cools a few degrees and you catch a balance you would have missed if you’d finished it right away.