Many years ago, when I worked at a Japanese restaurant, a hot sake dispensed from a machine often ended my night. My expectations of this beverage were low beyond chilling out after a busy service. But after a visit to a traditional izakaya (a Japanese-style pub) where I experienced a variety of sakes — none of which were served hot — it was a revelation of what this rice wine could be.
Since then, sake has gained a greater appreciation in the U.S. beyond sake bombs (a glass of beer in which a shot of sake is dropped in), although there are still plenty of those offered at restaurants too. Sake breweries have expanded outside Japan, including in Brooklyn, Nashville and Seattle. But for many, sake remains a mystery.
Daniel Bennett’s eye-opener came while working for Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto. For Bennett, sake provided a window into Japanese cuisine and culture. Since then, he’s passionately explored this ancient beverage, including at his current gig as assistant general manager at Sushi-san and The Omakase Room. His journey includes earning the title of certified sake professional and crafting a private label sake, Sake-san, for the restaurants in partnership with a brewery in Osaka, Japan.
“Sake is literally foreign in every way, from the writing on the bottle to the terms for the different styles,” says Bennett as to why some people are daunted by it. “But while sake service and production are steeped in tradition, all are welcome to share a glass whether you’re an expert or it’s your first time tasting.”
At the restaurants, he works with staff to help take away sake’s inherent intimidation.
“Sake is simply a Japanese alcoholic beverage, brewed like beer, but similar to white wine,” says Bennett, adding that rice, water, yeast and koji (rice inoculated with a natural fermentation culture) are traditionally the only ingredients used to make it. Sake’s ABV is slightly higher than wine but lower than most cocktails.
Rather than using “red” or “white” to determine a guest’s sake style, he recommends using clean/dry, fruit/floral and rich/round as preference indicators. From there, he might delve into the levels of rice milling and their terms — junmai, ginjo and daiginjo, from least to most polished respectively — to offer additional information on sake’s nuances.
At Konbini & Kanpai, Jun-Jun Vichaikul and Naomi Hattori have likewise made it their mission to raise sake’s profile, along with other Japanese beverages and snacks. “My wife and I started this passion project for sake three years ago during COVID,” says Vichaikul, who is also a certified sake professional. “We realized that the Midwest needed a place where people could explore sake.” Special sake tastings and a monthly sake club help spread the sake message.
At their locations in Lake View and Wrigleyville, the latter of which includes a restaurant, sake is organized by flavor profiles that include umami and savory, fruity and floral, dry and drier, fun and unique, and sake for wine drinkers and cocktail lovers. “When you go to restaurant, sake is typically organized by type,” says Vichaikul. “But those don’t tell you anything about what it will taste like.”
To further demystify sake, 4-ounce pours from bottles carried at Konbini & Kanpai — 60 at Wrigleyville and up to 160 at Lake View — are available to try. Staff are trained to ask customers what they normally like to drink to help refine the selection process. “There are sakes that will mimic gin, for instance,” says Vichaikul, citing Sankan, Bizen Omachi Triple Crown. “It has same botanicals upfront, herbaceous and tea on mid palate, and dry and crisp on the finish.”
For first-time sake drinkers, Bennett has developed a system that helps guide them on where to start. Prefer dry white wines or clear spirits? Daiginjo or honjozo sakes are for you. If cocktails or fruit-driven white wines are your go-to, try a junmai ginjo. For those who prefer whisky, beer or red wine, he’d recommend junmai, while low-proof cocktail drinkers and pina colada lovers would enjoy njgori (cloudy, unfiltered sake) or fruit-infused sakes (ume-shu or yuzu-shu).
Ichido “Rosé” Sparkling Sake is photographed at Sushi-san in Chicago. “Ichido crafts its sake using the most elegant and traditional way, Méthode Champenoise, right in the bottle. For this rosé that’s available by the glass at Sushi-san, Ichido uses locally sourced black rice that adds a blush of pink and a savory quality to the off-dry sparkling sake,” says sommelier Daniel Bennett at The Omakase Room in Sush-san.
When it comes to pairing with food, sake has a leg up. “One thing I’ve always preached is sake is meant for food,” says Vichaikul, citing the increase of sake on pairing menus at restaurants. “It’s pretty clean by nature and can amplify and enhance what you are eating. With those four ingredients, sake can span a very vast flavor profile range that wine can’t hit.”
Sake also plays nicely with other spirits. “Generally, there’s not a wrong answer for what makes a sake good for a cocktail,” says Kevin Beary, beverage director for Sushi-San. “Rather, it depends on what you’re doing and the how you craft the cocktail.”
For the restaurants’ sake cocktails, he leans towards ones that are a little funkier with fuller flavors and higher in alcohol, which allows the delicate sake notes to come through. Sometimes sake can stand in for a full-strength spirit. Martini lovers could try subbing out some of the gin or vodka for sake for a mid-tier ABV option, says Beary. For your next highball cocktail, he suggests mixing Japanese whisky with sake, sparkling water and one other delicate flavoring element.
Then there’s the age-old question of warm vs. chilled sake. “It’s just personal preference,” says Vichaikul. “The best sake temperature is always what you enjoy.”
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