National Warmed Sake Contest 2024
The National Warmed Sake Contest is the only unique contest in the world to select the best tasting sake when heated. One of the greatest characteristics of sake is that it offers different flavors as the temperature changes. While there are a wide variety of alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine, whiskey, and vodka, sake is second to none in terms of the range of temperatures suitable for drinking. It has a long history, with records showing that it was already being drunk warmed during the Heian period (794-1192), and became popular as ” warmed sake” during the Edo period (1603-1868) and later.
Warming sake enhances its flavor and makes it taste even richer. In particular, it dissolves fats and oils and flows easily in the mouth, thus enhancing the flavor of the food. This is the reason why warmed sake is called the “ultimate dining alcohol beverage. Warming sake also contributed to the development of sake drinking vessels such as tokkuri (sake cups) and sakazuki (sake cups), creating a rich and unique Japanese sake culture.
From the 1980s, ginjo-shu and nama-zake, which taste great chilled, began to become popular, attracting many people with their fresh, gorgeous, and delicate flavors. However, along with this, the misunderstanding that “fine sake is not warmed up” has also spread. To correct this misunderstanding, several professional organizations have begun testing the quality of warmed sake.
The National Warmed Sake Contest follows this trend and aims to promote the appeal of warmed sake by selecting “sake that tastes great warmed up” through a process of rigorous expert judging. There are many fine sake varieties that are well suited for warmed sake, and encourage you to enjoy sake at different temperatures and experience food pairings that are different from those of wine.
This year’s judging was conducted by a panel of 49 judges. Out of 939 entries submitted by 251 breweries from all over Japan, a total of 292 entries were selected after rigorous judging, including 48 for the highest Gold Award and 244 for the Gold Award. Through this contest, hopefully more people will rediscover the diverse charms of sake and experience the joy of warming sake.
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