Sake Confidential: A Beyond-the-Basics Guide to Understanding, Tasting, Selection, and Enjoyment
by John Gauntner
Published by Stone Bridge Press
List price $10.21
Paperback – 184 pages
June 2014
ISBN: 1611720141
Dimensions (inches): 8.9 x 4.4 x 0.6
With today’s sake drinkers increasingly informed and adventurous, now is the time for a truly expert guide to take you deeper into appreciation of this complex but delightful Japanese beverage, brewed from rice and enjoyed both warm or chilled.
And what better mentor than John Gauntner, the “Sake Guy” and the world’s leading non-Japanese sake educator and evangelist? Here in over two dozen no-holds-barred essays, John reveals “the truth about sake” from a connected insider’s perspective. No other book or website presents such a knowledgeable, practical, and concise yet complete guide to sake idiosyncrasies, misperceptions, and controversies.
Sake Confidential is the perfect FAQ for beginners, experts, and sommeliers. Indexed for easy reference with suggested brands and label photos. Includes:
- Sake Secrets: junmai vs. non-junmai, namazake, aging, dry vs. sweet, ginjo, warm vs. chilled, nigori, water, yeast, rice, regionality
- How the Industry Really Works: pricing, contests, distribution, glassware, milling, food pairing
- The Brewer’s Art Revealed: koji-making, brewers’ guilds, grading
The Sake Handbook
by John Gauntner
Published by Charles E. Tuttle
List price $10.95
Paperback – 254 pages
February 1998
ISBN: 0804821135
Dimensions (inches): 0.58 x 7.19 x 4.50
The Sake Handbook is a compact guidebook to Japan’s national beverage. It is the perfect introduction to the history, brewing, and merits of various types of sake. Just what is jizake, namazake or ginjoshu? The Sake Handbook answers these and many other questions about sake, and will help you find your way to some of Japan’s most memorable sake establishments.
- Gives all the information you need to become a sake expert in a handy, portable format.
- Offers a detailed explanation of the sake brewing process.
- Reviews over one hundred brands, their labels included for easy identification.
- Profiles over fifty Japanese izakaya, or pubstyle restaurants in Tokyo and environs that specialize in sake, including maps.
- Lists specialty liquor shops throughout Japan, with addresses and phone numbers, where you can purchase hard-to-find sake brands. This comprehensive guide to sake includes an A-Z directory of Japanese and American sake with ratings and tasting notes for more than 130 sake varieties. Also included is a directory profiling major Japanese and American breweries, as well as a primer on sake terminology, an explanation of the sake brewing process, and a history of the role of sake in Japanese culture.
Best up to date book on sake available! As president of a premium sake brewery in Oregon, I can attest that John’s book is the best up to date book on sake available. If you are interested in knowing more about sake, then this is the current bible. -Book Review from Forest Grove, Oregon, March 29, 1998