日本酒

日本酒（にほんしゅ）は、通常は米と麹と水を主な原料とする清酒（せいしゅ）を指す。日本特有の製法で醸造された酒で、醸造酒に分類される。 （Wikipediaより）

Sake (Japanese: 酒, [sake]), also spelled saké (/ˈsɑːkeɪ/ SAH-kay US also /ˈsɑːki/ SAH-kee),[1][2] also referred to as Japanese rice wine,[3] is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name, unlike wine, in which alcohol is produced by fermenting sugar that is naturally present in fruit (typically grapes), sake is produced by a brewing process more akin to that of beer, where starch is converted into sugars, which ferment into alcohol. The brewing process for sake differs from the process for beer, where the conversion from starch to sugar and then from sugar to alcohol occurs in two distinct steps. Like other rice wines, when sake is brewed, these conversions occur simultaneously. Furthermore, the alcohol content differs between sake, wine, and beer; while most beer contains 3–9% ABV, wine generally contains 9–16% ABV,[4], and undiluted sake contains 18–20% ABV (although this is often lowered to about 15% by diluting with water prior to bottling). In Japanese, the word "sake" (kanji: 酒; 'liquor'; also pronounced shu) can refer to any alcoholic drink, while the beverage called "sake" in English is usually termed nihonshu (日本酒; meaning 'Japanese liquor'). Under Japanese liquor laws, sake is labelled with the word "seishu" (清酒; 'clear liquor'), a synonym not commonly used in conversation. In Japan, where it is the national beverage, sake is often served with special ceremony, where it is gently warmed in a small earthenware or porcelain bottle and sipped from a small porcelain cup called a sakazuki. As with wine, the recommended serving temperature of sake varies greatly by type.

Wikipedia - Sake