I’m generally hesitant to recommend a sake based solely on the criteria of a drinker’s lack of experience with the category, and generally leery of any such recommendations, finding most “for first-timer” lists rather dubious at best. The reason is that, even if someone hasn’t had many previous opportunities to encounter sake, it doesn’t mean that they don’t bring a lot to the table. Everyone, whether they are conscious of it or not, comes packed with preferences based on all kinds of food and beverage experiences and influences. From my personal experience, there exists no single “starter sake” (or starter wine, beer, coffee, or any beverage, for that matter), but there does exist an entry point sake unique to each individual at any one point in time. The process of finding that is finding the joy, not just in sake, but across all kinds of food and beverage.

For this list, I’ve put together a few recommendations that I feel are not only reasonable starting points across the spectrum but are also sake that you’ll likely wind up continuing to come back to. Not just because they’re rather tasty, but because they have a lot of subtle character, as well; a lot of which will really become more apparent with time. You’ll get out of these sake as much as the time you’re willing to put into them, which is really true of any healthy relationship, no?

Continue reading “Guest Post: 4 Sake Recommendations From Nihonshu Expert Justin Potts” →