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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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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 @8:36PM PJ said... I've been to one "trendy" place that was serving draft sake from BOX!! BLECHHHHHH
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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 @4:29PM 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 @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 @8:07PM TommyT said... Ever tried Sweat sake!..............lol
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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 @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 @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 @6:10PM Jody said... Okinawan Sake is the best..Habu Sake
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1-03-2007 @8:15PM maddy said... I luuuuv sake. And I luuuuv it HOT. Been drinking it that way ever since I was underage. And that was MANY MANY years ago! I vote for hot.
Miz Maddy
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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 @7:54PM Micah said... I forgot what it tastes like. It was 37 years ago. My first buzz at 14. I got into my Dads liquor cabinet, guzzled the contents of a bottle of sake, and went to baseball practice. Thank the Lord it was only 1/3 full...
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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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