Arne, you are not going to believe this!
I had just finished composing a nice, rather long reply recounting my experiences with sake on six trips to Japan, courtesy of the US Army. I was about to send it when my phone rang. It was an old Army friend of mine who just happened to be in the same team as I on two of those trips. He called me at 6:05 a.m. his time to tell me about the death of a mutual friend. When the necessary information was exchanged, I turned the conversation to sake.
Right away he mentions my favorite sake, Kikusui Tokubetu-Ginjyo, aged
3 years before bottling. I asked him what he thought the alcohol content was and he says "about 18%, I think." I say that can't be right and he says, "Wait a sec and I'll see." It seems he has two bottles in the refrig. He comes back and says it is 17.5% abv, but Kikusui Namazake is only 15.3% abv. It turns out he has 9 bottles of sake, all Kikusui brand (they make a dozen or so sakes). Kikusui Ginjyo Junmai is 16.3% abv, but Kikusui 'Sugi' Kurazake is 20.3% abv.So then I tell him about this discussion and how in my mind sake was always a low alcohol beverage and rice wine was the wicked stuff. He laughed and postulated that this is because we were always served sake in these tiny little sake glasses, but drank our rice wine from tumblers. One warmed the blood and the other got you smashed. Could be, but it is odd that I had this reversed perception all these years.
I any event, it appears you are very right and I was, well, wrong. I hope this doesn't happen too often, but when it does, please straighten me out. I hate being 180 on anything....
Jack Keller, The Winemaking Home Page