Japanese restaurant serves sake and shochu drinks with a twist of culture and history

Nation's Restaurant News,  Nov 20, 2006  by Gary Regan

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Though many drinkers remain unclear on the details of sake--the beverage is often categorized as a wine made from rice, though technically, it's in the beer family--the drink has been growing in popularity each year for the past decade or so. Now shochu, a spirit made in Korea, China and Japan, seems to be coming into its own as well.

Fugakyu, a fine-dining Japanese restaurant in Brookline, Mass., hopes to capitalize on that popularity of sake and shochu --and educate its customers about their origins--with its beverage programs that highlight the delights of both drinks.

"Everyone's reaction to the shochu cocktails has been really great," says Michael Chu, bartender at Fugakyu. "A lot of people are curious about this type of vodka."

Shochu, sometimes referred to as Japanese vodka, tends to be a little lower in alcohol than most other spirits, though it can be found at various proofs from around 25-percent to 43-percent alcohol by volume, making it ideal to use as a base for cocktails.

The shochu served at Fugakyu is made from a base of barley and sweet potatoes, though this Asian spirit can be made from rice, sugar cane and even such unusual ingredients as chestnuts or shiso leaf. In a way it is similar to vodka, which also can be made from more or less anything that will ferment.

Bartender Chu offers the Green Apple Passion, made with shochu, apple liqueur and a splash of lemon-lime soda, as well as the Red Devil, a mixture of shochu, peach schnapps and cranberry juice.

"The shochu cocktails are really tasty, strong and just a fun drink," Chu says. Shochu "can be served by itself, hot or cold, [or we can] mix it into any drink: shochu martinis, shochu and tonic, or whatever the customer desires."

Fugakyu also is offering flights of sake through the end of this month. The flights feature three styles: Kira Honjyozo, described as being sharp and refreshing with a mild bitterness; Kimoto Shinzenshu, a sake with higher sweetness and acidity and pronounced flavors; and Nigori Genshu Momokaw, a bold and hearty sake.

Desmond Chang, owner of Fugakyu, says that one of the restaurant's aims is to teach its customers to understand the differences between various bottlings of sake. "We really want to educate the customer to appreciate the variety of sake that we serve," he says. "The sakes in the flight we offer highlight all the different taste levels: light, medium to rich."

But that isn't the only object of making these flights available at Fugakyu. The restaurant also is aiming to make sure that its customers take time to understand the culture behind the drink.

Sake is "considered a 'Drink of the Gods' by the Japanese, and has been around for over 6,000 years," Chang says. "The history behind it is fascinating. The more you know about the origin, the more the drink becomes enjoyable." He makes a very good point.

Over the past couple of decades, I've seen many bars and restaurants try to educate their customers on the finer points of brandies, whiskies and all manner of distilled spirits. The ones that seem to have achieved their goals are those that make the educational experience interesting by imparting knowledge on all aspects of the subject.

As restaurants and bars continue to serve up sake and shochu-based beverages and customers learn more about their origins, we'll no doubt see more and more of these delicious drinks.

gary@ardentspirits.com

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