BOOZE TYPE: Sake
PRICE: $19.99 at Astor Center
RATING: A+
I don’t know much about sake. I mean, I have had countless glasses of it, and heard the terms bandied around, but none of it seems to sink in much more than skin deep. When the sake urge comes, I buy more on terms of how pretty the bottle is, the price, and whatever inspiring words are on the placard put there by the liquor store. Astor Center fortunately has a fantastic sake section, all nice and defined and kept chilled. So, tonight, when I decided on my way home that I would make an evening of watching kabuki on YouTube, I knew it was sake time.
I picked the Mizu no Shirabe because it was $20, in a lovely light lavender bottle, and the placard described it as a delicate sake from Kyoto… so delicate as to be effeminate. Clearly the right pairing for my entertainment choice!
I like mixing it up and drinking sake now and then because it calls me to go for a whole different vocabulary, instead of just the standard wine words. This had a rich, silky feel over my tongue that ended after I swallowed with a little last burst or flame of alcoholic vapor curling up in my sinuses. Sake is no more alcoholic than wine, but wine rarely leaves my lips tingling so pleasantly.
Mizu no Shirabe is not too dry, and a nice level of creaminess that ends with just a little twist. If I lift my tongue tip when drinking (a trick taught to me by my older brother), it opens up a lot of soft, sweet flavors. Effeminate? Yes, I think so, but a little unexpected too… women can be dangerous, after all. Having Tamasaburo on the mind just makes me smile and connect that little twist on my tongue and tingling lips to his dance. Mmm, onnagata sake.
I think I’ll have to remember to drink more sake, because it keeps me from becoming complacent in how I taste things and think about things. It’s different in so many ways while maintaining a familiar base that it really wakes me up to the point of all this (beyond getting boozed, of course.)
BUY IT AGAIN: Yes, it’s lovely and was reasonably priced. But now I’m feeling inspired to explore sake in more depth…
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