Few drinks respond to temperature as dramatically as sake does - even a small shift can transform its character.
Chill it and the flavor sharpens; warm it and you unlock aroma and umami. Finding the temperature you like requires conscientious exploration. There's no way around it - you have to take a drink.
As the weather cools, the sight of sake being warmed in steaming water looks ever more inviting. It’s central heating for the spirit, with snacks.
A Quick History of Heated Sake
In modern times, most sake is served chilled but in the days before refrigeration, it was drunk at room temperature or warmed.
The term 'kanzake' (燗酒) refers to all warmed sake, regardless of temperature. The act of heating it is called 'kan wo tsukeru' or, more simply, 'okan suru'.
Historical accounts point to warmed sake dating back at least 1200 years, with some texts decreeing that it should be served from the ninth day of the ninth month - the Chrysanthemum Festival - till the second day of the third month, roughly the start of April in the modern calendar.
But warm sake was clearly too enjoyable to keep it to only half the year. By the latter half of the 16th century, the Japanese were blithely downing kanzake regardless of the season: in his 1585 work, The First European Description of Japan, Jesuit missionary Luis Frois noted that the Japanese drank warm sake almost all year round.
Today, the custom thrives from izakaya counters to home stovetops. Brands and brewers still champion warming because it reveals different sides of the drink. As far as Japanese beverages go, sake is the multi-talented friend who can sing both bass and falsetto.
The Temperature Range of Japanese Sake
Like the names of the months in the old Japanese calendar, the terms for sake temperatures are both poetic and specific. At their most precise, there's a name for every 5°C interval.
冷酒 Reishu - Chilled Sake
雪冷え Yuki-bie (5°C / 41°F) - 'snow-chilled'; the aroma is subdued, the flavor sharp and the texture dense.
花冷え Hana-bie (10°C / 50°F) - 'cold flowers'; the temperature that would chill even a flower. The term refers to the wintry cold that returns around the time that the cherry blossoms bloom. At this temperature, sake has a subtle aroma and delicate flavor.
涼冷え Suzu-bie (15°C / 59°F) - 'cool'; fresh taste and aroma.
燗 Kan - Warmed Sake
日向燗 Hinata-kan (30°C / 86°F) - 'sun-warmed'; the acidity and umami begin to emerge clearly.
人肌燗 Hitohada-kan (35°C / 95°F) - 'body temperature warm'; the aroma of rice and koji - rice malt - blooms, offering a soft, mellow taste. It’s considered the most soothing and comforting way to enjoy warm sake.
温燗、ぬる燗 Nuru-kan (40°C / 104°F) - 'warm sake'; rounded umami, fuller aroma; a sweet spot for many. Recommended for junmai-style sake.
上燗 Jo-kan (45°C / 113°F) - 'upper kan'; slightly hot sake. Steam rises with the aroma; the finish is clean and focused.
熱燗 Atsu-kan (50°C / 122°F) - 'hot sake'. The aroma and flavor sharpen; ideal on cold nights.
飛び切り燗 Tobikiri-kan (55°C+ / 131°F+) - 'very hot sake'. The acidity and dryness intensify. Recommended for light, dry sake or kimoto-style sake.
Rule of thumb: Chill for brightness and snap; heat for umami, depth and a softer palate feel.
But don’t chill the sake below about 5°C - you’ll mute the aroma and flavor - or over-heat it to the point where the sensation of alcohol dominates.
Which Sakes Taste Better Heated
Junmai, kimoto, yamahai: These styles typically shine on the warm side. At nuru-kan to jo-kan (about 40-45°C / 104-113°F), sometimes higher, the umami expands and the acidity balances out.
Honjozo: Lighter, crisper and often drier compared with junmai because of the addition of brewer's alcohol. Generally speaking, the ideal temperature is a higher one - when honjozo is served as atsu-kan (50°C / 122°F), the texture smoothens out and the flavor profile opens up.
Aged sake (koshu / jukushu): These can be exquisite when gently warmed; aim for between 15-40°C depending on how rich or fresh the style is. Richer aged sake can go warmer; fresher styles do better at the lower end.
Ginjo and daiginjo sake: Known for their floral and fruity aromas; usually enjoyed chilled or at around room temperature. If you do warm them, don't exceed 40°C to avoid losing what makes them special.
If the sake is all brightness and perfume, chill. If it’s about grain, umami and depth, heat.
But sake can be enjoyed at a wide range of temperatures, so check the label or official website for a recommendation then experiment to find the temperature you like best.
Two Methods of Heating Sake at Home
You only need a pot, water, a sake decanter (tokkuri or any microwave-safe vessel) and a thermometer if you want to be precise.
Method 1: Hot-Water Bath (Yusen)
What you need: A pot, water, a tokkuri (ceramic or glass) or a metal chirori.
Fill the tokkuri with sake to about 80-90% full - sake will expand as it warms so don't fill the decanter to the brim.
Put the tokkuri in your pot, add water so that it covers half to about two-thirds of the flask; lift it out. Heat the water to a boil, then turn off the heat. If you keep the burner on, the sake will heat too fast and you’ll overshoot your desired temperature.
Submerge the tokkuri. Monitor the temperature; with a ceramic tokkuri, you’ll hit 40-45°C (104-113°F) in about 2-3 minutes.
If you don’t have a thermometer, touch the bottom of the tokkuri - moderately hot often correlates to jo-kan (~45°C / 113°F), but this varies by material and thickness.
Method 2: Microwave Oven
Purists frown on the microwave method because it heats sake unevenly but there's no denying its convenience.
Cover the mouth of the vessel with plastic wrap - this stops the aroma from escaping.
Heating about 180 ml (1 go) of sake at 500W for around 40 seconds will take it up to about 35°C.
When you warm sake in the microwave, the top and bottom of the tokkuri enter a brief and slightly confused long-distance relationship. One side gets all hot and bothered while the other’s still figuring out what season it is.
So halfway through - about 20 seconds in - take the tokkuri out, give it a gentle swirl or stir, then pop it back in for another short round until both sides reach harmony.
Hirezake: Waiter, There's a Fin in my Drink
It's one of the more unforgettable sights in an izakaya kitchen - fish fins plastered all over a wooden board.
They're being dried for hirezake: fin sake. Made most famously with fugu - tiger pufferfish - fin, which infuses the sake with umami, the fin is steeped in very hot sake - around 80°C - for a few minutes, often covered.
The surface is briefly flamed to soften the alcohol bite and add a toasty aroma, not to mention theatrical flair. (Safety note: With pufferfish, a notoriously poisonous fish, use only fins from properly processed fish, or buy packaged fins. If you can't find pufferfish fins from a licensed source, try ray fin or sea bream fin.)
Which types of sake suit hirezake? Clean, uncomplicated honjozo and other kanzake-friendly styles tend to harmonize best with the roasted seafood note - let the fin have the spotlight.
Making Hirezake at Home: From Fin to Flame
1) Prep and dry the fins
Rinse the fins well under cold water. Rub lightly with salt to remove any slime, rinse again and pat dry.
Split each fin into two flat pieces. Spread the fins out on a wooden board or skewer with bamboo sticks and dry thoroughly. Half-dried fins will make hirezake unpleasantly fishy.
2) Toast the fins
Grill the fins over a low flame on wire mesh or use a fish grill or toaster oven lined with foil. Toast slowly until evenly golden-brown. Tiny bubble-like blisters on the surface mean that the fins are done.
3) Warm the sake
Heat sake to about 80°C (176°F) to draw the fin’s umami out. Use a bain-marie: warm the sake in a tokkuri or heat-safe decanter in hot water, checking the temperature with a thermometer. For one serving, use about 180 ml (1 go).
4) Steep the fin
Drop 1-2 roasted fins into the heated sake. Cover and steep for 3 minutes - foil or a small plate will do. The sake should turn a pale amber with a gentle, savory aroma.
5) Optional flaming finish
Move the lid slightly and hold a lit match or lighter through the gap. The alcohol vapor will ignite in a brief blue flame - once it dies, cover again to seal in the aroma.
Play With Heating Times
Now you know how to heat sake without exorcising the spirit out of it.
With its ability to change flavor like a person trying on hats, sake is party-ready by nature. So why not host a kanzake night where you glide a bottle or two through different temperatures like a DJ working the fader?
Rather than dulling your senses, sipping sake little by little - in 5°C steps - may actually sharpen them.
By Janice Tay