In spite of a 2,000-year-old tradition, sake is declining in popularity in Japan. Consumers there are opting for wine, beer and cocktails -- Western drinks -- at home, at bars and at restaurants, causing a 10 percent drop in sake's alcohol market share in the last year alone and an almost 50 percent drop in total sales in the last decade. The home sales are particularly flagging, something attributed to the increasing popularity of Western cuisines and the desire of cooks to match them with appropriate drinks. This trend works in reverse in countries where Japanese cuisine is still seen as hip and trendy, like in the US.
To renew interest, brewers are turning more and more toward premium sakes and cutting-edge ad campaigns, not unlike the ones commonly seen for beer or luxury spirits, to attract younger drinkers to their products. They don't want the trendsetters of the nation to see sake as "what grandma and grandpa drink" or as "what your boss forces you to drink in a smoky pub in a sticky glass." In pursuit of hipness, they are also touting the drink as being low in calories and a good stress reliever.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
12-29-2006 @ 5:15PM
miss tiffie said...
POOCHI POOCHI is SUCH a yummie sake! It's a sparkling/carbonated sake! You guys should write about the new kinds of sake they have now.
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1-03-2007 @ 2:46PM
Fizzazz said...
Poochi Poochi 'yummie'. You need a course in sake tasting. It is awful. Try some of the really wonderful sake.
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1-03-2007 @ 3:57PM
G-Dub said...
Oh, for heaven's sake! Who ever heard of drinking HOT WINE???
The good stuff is served cool, like normal wine. Only the cheap sake is served hot to Amelicans who don't know the difference.
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1-03-2007 @ 4:19PM
Mookie Wilson said...
...Who cares???
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1-03-2007 @ 4:20PM
cassie said...
I totally agree with the cold sake comment G-Dub, but if you're going to insult Americans, you should at least spell it correctly.
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1-03-2007 @ 4:25PM
James Jarnagin said...
Sake is a wonderful beverage served warm. Although Americans think of it as just 'rice wine', I understand Japanese think of it as their most revered alcoholic beverage.
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1-03-2007 @ 4:29PM
Cabbit said...
I am from Japan, and I know sake can be served either hot or cold (and anywhere in between). It depends on your personal preference and seasonal appropriateness. Hot sake in winter is pretty comforting. Try it if you feel brave enough!
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1-03-2007 @ 5:35PM
Nosmo King said...
As Rowan & Martin used to say, "It may be rice wine to you, but it's sake to me!" Actually, it's produced more in the method of beer brewing than that of a wine fermenting.
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1-03-2007 @ 5:55PM
Allen Pearl said...
I love Sake, and enjoy it every chance I get.
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1-03-2007 @ 6:04PM
Darlene Taylor said...
Have tried sake hot and cold. It is just as flat as wine, in my taste mostly reminds me of white wine. I didnt care for it but, i dont like white wine either.
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1-03-2007 @ 6:06PM
jette said...
ok you sake nuts what is the best sake on the sweet side hot or cold
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1-03-2007 @ 6:10PM
Jody said...
Okinawan Sake is the best..Habu Sake
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1-03-2007 @ 6:24PM
slippery said...
Try Hira Sake.It will straighten you out fast!
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1-03-2007 @ 6:30PM
Toni Riedl said...
I actually like the taste and warmth of SAKE. If I had the money as a matter of fact I would open a Sake Bar.
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1-03-2007 @ 6:36PM
Toni Riedl said...
I would love to open a sake bar in the nw.
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1-03-2007 @ 6:39PM
julia said...
I love sake and I do love red wines too....but sake is wonderful when it is hot, esp in cooler weather.. I now live in Fla and still love my sake hot with japanese food..............
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1-03-2007 @ 6:50PM
ange said...
Please tell me where to buy SAKE? I love it but forget all about it until I go eat at SAKURA'S.
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1-03-2007 @ 6:50PM
Toni R said...
Sake is great in the summer or winter. like great coffee.
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1-03-2007 @ 7:03PM
Agnes Shaw said...
I thought sake was a beer as it is fermented or brewed like beer
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1-03-2007 @ 7:04PM
Chris said...
I think a sake bar in the nw would do very well Toni.
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