Benjamin Knopp Co-founder of Kurashu and in charge of spreading the word on sake. While it might seem appealing, don't bring sake into a public onsen! The first time I visited Japan, in 2003, and was served cold sake I thought I died and ended up in a parellel universe. Cold sake?! Who would do such a thing? In my native Germany (admitedly not the culinary Mecca of Japanese cuisine) it was de rigueur to serve sake warm. That was what was fun about it, because it wasn’t particularly pleasant to drink.  I was told that much of the best sake in Japan is actually served cold and tha ..read more

Benjamin Knopp Co-founder of Kurashu and in charge of spreading the word on sake. After first coming into contact with the hot swill that was sold as sake in Germany ca. 2000 (and almost scarring me for life, poor me) it was a surprising pleasure to discover the elegant and sophisticated taste experience that good quality, chilled sake can deliver.  I thus learned that cold sake is necessarily good and hot sake necessarily bad. At least that's the answer I would have given you if you would have asked me at any time over the past 15 or so years. After all, since sake in Germ ..read more

Benjamin Knopp Co-founder of Kurashu and in charge of spreading the word on sake. There are three ways that you can heat up sake, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.  1. Heating Up Sake In A Hot Water Bath Most professional sake establishments will heat up sake by immersing it in hot water, ideally at 80°C. While there are machines that are made especially for that purpose they are probably a bit large and pricey for home use.   The easiest solution is simply heating up water in a pot. Get the water hot, but not boiling, and put a tokkuri (sake serving ve ..read more

Benjamin Knopp Co-founder of Kurashu and convinced sake convert. We've seen a lot of misinformation out there about temperature sake should be served at.  Many people in Europe's first experience with sake (mine included) is as a warm or hot drink at Japanese restaurants.  Afterwards, perhaps during a trip to Japan, many of these same people might find out that fine, expensive ginjo is drunk chilled and that most restaurants in Japan serve cold sake rather than hot, and that sake in Europe is usually served hot because it's often a horrible drink and because the heat hides ..read more