Sake Confidential

An American sake expert takes you to a whole new level of insider knowledge and expertise

With today’s sake drinkers increasingly informed and adventurous, now is the time for a truly expert guide to take you deeper into appreciation of this complex but delightful Japanese beverage, brewed from rice and enjoyed both warm or chilled.

And what better mentor than John Gauntner, the “Sake Guy” and the world’s leading non-Japanese sake educator and evangelist? Here in over two dozen no-holds-barred essays, John reveals “the truth about sake” from a connected insider’s perspective. No other book or website presents such a knowledgeable, practical, and concise yet complete guide to sake idiosyncrasies, misperceptions, and controversies.

Sake Confidential is the perfect FAQ for beginners, experts, and sommeliers. Indexed for easy reference with suggested brands and label photos. Includes:

• Sake Secrets: junmai vs. non-junmai, namazake, aging, dry vs. sweet, ginjo, warm vs. chilled, nigori, water, yeast, rice, regionality
• How the Industry Really Works: pricing, contests, distribution, glassware, milling, food pairing
• The Brewer’s Art Revealed: koji-making, brewers’ guilds, grading

John Gauntner John Gauntner is the only non-Japanese certified Master of Sake Tasting. A resident of Japan since 1988, he has worked in the sake industry promoting and educating since 1994. Each year he conducts Sake Professional Courses for sake professionals and aficionados, and several of his students have gone on to open thriving sake shops, breweries, and izakaya in the United States.

INTRODUCTION: “The Least You Need to Know About Sake”

What sake is vs. wine or beer or spirits

How long it has been around

How it is made

What makes a good one from a less good one, i.e. how to choose a sake safely

The grades and major types

Temperature, aging, storage, pairing with food

Alternative types like nigori, nama, yamahai that are mutually exclusive of grade

TRUTHS ABOUT SAKE

1. The truth about junmai vs. non-junmai
2. The truth about nama-zake
3. The truth about aged sake
4. The truth about the nihonshu-do
5. The truth about ginjo
6. The truth about sake purity
7. The truth about the date on the bottle and “how old is too old”:
8. The truth about warmed sake
9. The truth about nigori-zake
10. The truth about “tokubetsu”
11. The truth about water
12. The truth about yamahai and kimoto sake
13. The truth about rice variety and sake flavor
14. The truth about regionality in sake

HOW THE SAKE INDUSTRY REALLY WORKS

15. The Truth about the sake industry
16. The truth about how sake is priced in Japan
17. The National New Sake Tasting Competition
18. The truth about how rice is distributed in Japan
19. The truth about outsourcing in Japan
20. The truth about sake glassware
21. The truth about the milling rate for junmai-shu
22. The truth about pairing sake and food in Japan

THE BREWMASTER’S ART REVEALED

23. The truth about koji-making.
24. The truth about toji
25. The truth about some aromatic sake.
26. All brewers make all grades, and they start with the rough stuff.
27. A million ways to make your moto: infinite variations

APPLYING WHAT YOU KNOW

28. How to develop your sake-tasting abilities
29. Representative sake selections

CONCLUSION

EXPANDING YOUR KNOWLEDGE