Wanting to develop your sake-tasting ability but don’t quite know where to start? Use this downloadable sake flavour profiles chart to help you along your journey.
Perhaps you are doing all the right things in going about your sake tasting. You’re sticking your nose into the glass and taking a big sniff. After a sip, you are even swirling the sake around in your mouth, just like you have seen sommeliers do. You’re sensing different flavours…yet you don’t have the right vocabulary to contextualise your impressions.
If so, download our sake flavour profiles chart below and use it as your guide each and every time you taste, until these choices for difference possible flavours become second nature to you. While it may seem like a chore, we recommend that you jot down your observations. The more you go through the exercise of first, expressing your impressions concretely by using the vocabulary you see in this chart and second, physically writing them down, the sooner you will start to identify more characteristics about the sake you are drinking. We guarantee that this will significantly enhance your sake drinking experience moving forward!
For anyone unfamiliar with what ‘Ginjo-ka’ means under the ‘Fruity’ category, these are the fruit flavours most commonly associated with the ginjo category of sake. Have a read as to what ginjo sakes are here.
The best of luck on your journey and kanpai!