Japanese Sake Tasting at Daruma
by Yuji Katsumata
Daruma
15915 S. Western Ave.
Gardena, CA 90247
310-323-0133
Japanese sake is starting to penetrate American society more and more. In the past, if one did not say “rice wine,” people like Americans did not know what was being spoken of, but now “sake” has come into wide circulation.
“Daruma,” which has operated for many years in Gardena as a Japanese izakaya pub, on September 8th from 5:00 to 7:00 pm, held its first Japanese sake tasting party. On that day, there were 13 varieties of Japanese sake presented. Approximately 70% of those were ginjo sake, such as ginjo and daiginjo, but besides that there were also junmai sake and nigori sake and there was also space devoted to a selection of Japanese beers.
In consideration of the “summer weather,” the Japanese sake and other beverages were chilled in ice, so it was a tasting of “cold” sake as the focus, which was advisable.
Regarding the event, the manager, Matai John explained, “Beginning in April of this year a new owner took over with the desire to build a new customer base and we considered what kind of projects would be best to work on. The result was that this sake tasting was decided upon.”
In the present customer base, 50% is Japanese, 30% is Japanese American and Asian and Americans make up 20%. In this country, where the vast majority are Americans, it would be desirable to have more come. For that purpose, it was decided that it was best to expand the “sake” world and make it known in greater depths.
As suitable side dishes to accompany the sake, in addition to sushi and sashimi, there were eight varieties of outstanding dishes, Japanese style salad, kara-age deep-fried foods, pan fried foods and steamed dishes.
On that day, we heard the thoughts of a number of people who had come.
Yamazaki Hideki (54) lives in Orange County but works in this area and often frequents the restaurant. He was originally a beer drinker and for approximately 20 years continued drinking beer, but three years ago he started drinking sake. The reason for that was, “perhaps it’s due to my getting older, but I wanted something to drink leisurely and I wondered if there wasn’t something that I could savor. I started searching and as a result I came to Japanese sake. I like the sweet style and about once a week I drink it. The amount is about 2 Japanese go (approximately 0.8 pints or .36 liters). I have the time, so it’s a good way to relax.”
Oji Hidemi (55) is a veteran beer drinker who has been doing so for 40 years. However, as he himself puts it, “Along the way, I got fickle in my tastes and started drinking wine and then I began looking around for something else. About five or six years ago I turned to sake and recently have been trying my hand at shochu (a strong alcoholic drink distilled from sweet potatoes, millet, etc.). For a snack, kara-age deep-fried foods are good. They have their own individual flavors so they’re good.”
Yamada Takeshi (26) is a second generation Japanese American. Up to now he has been a beer and vodka drinker, but recently he has begun drinking sake. “The feeling one of drinking wine and it’s light so you don’t get too high and just get a nice feeling. Because of that, you can taste the flavors of foods well. I drink it about once a week, with the amount being about 2 Japanese go (approximately 0.8 pints or .36 liters).” Yamada brought some friends along, with five people participating in total. Among them was an Armenian and one of the only women, an Iranian named Tina. She said that she often had opportunities to drink sake at places like sushi bars. “If I’m drinking and get tipsy, sake is the best. It suits my character,” she said in praise of sake. One of the companions who came along also stated that, “There’s a rich variety of sake and nothing could be better than the foods that go with it,” with a satisfied expression.
Shimobarai Kumiko mentioned that, “One of my friends works at this restaurant, so I was invited to come and decided to participate.” She was sitting at a seat alone. “Actually, for me, I mostly drink cocktails. I started drinking Japanese sake when one of my friends recommended it. When I go to Japanese restaurants, I drink sake. I consider myself halfway between a sweet sake and dry sake drinker. I drink while eating and I don’t care what kind of snacks to eat with it. Today there are many different varieties of sake and foods, so I am happy. I love to talk loudly and have fun while drinking, so I am searching for drinking companions.”
Kida Ryuhei (44) says, “At first, I drank beer, but I started getting a paunch, so I switched to wine and Japanese sake.” When there is delicious food around, there is no question about choosing sake rather than anything else. With a taste for dry sake, “At those moments when there is time, I like to stretch out and spend time enjoying both the food and the sake.”
He goes out to drink sake once or twice a week and when conditions are right, drinks about 5 or 6 Japanese go (approximately 2.4 to 3.2 pints or .90 to 1.8 liters) and when there are friends around, there is no limit. He says that having friends around if the “best drink” and as for snacks, as long as there is something salty and good that is sufficient and he will raise his glass to it.
In this way, the people who attended this sake tasting were interested in “relaxing and leisurely savoring the Japanese sake” and categorized Japanese sake as “an adult beverage.” They were unanimous in expressing the sentiment that for $40 per person as the participation fee, “one could drink a wide variety of sake and as much as one wanted and with lots of food that one could eat as much of as one liked, it was cheap.”
On the part of the restaurant, the thought was expressed that, “We are going to examine the results of this trial and decide if we should run the event once a month. This was the first experiment of this kind for our restaurant, so as for the length of time, the fee charged, the sake, the food and the rest, we’re at the stage of trial and error. We are going to listen carefully to our customers and decide what to do.”