Sake Serving Techniques: Mizoresake
Mizoresake is a serving style in which sake is partially frozen before serving, turning into a slushy-like consistency when poured into a chilled glass. Typically served in Japan in the hot summer months, it’s an easy way to beat the heat. However, there’s a bit of a stigma surrounding mizoresake, as it’s usually done with cheap sake, in which the freezing temperatures can mask some of the harsh alcohol bite (think sticking vodka in the freezer).
However, not all mizoresake has to be bad sake! Carefully considering how freezing the sake changes its perception, we can select quality sake that will end up crisp, refreshing, and flavorful.
How freezing changes the taste
As the serving temperature of sake drops, a number of changes happen to the sake
Sweetness decreases, making the sake sharper and drier. This can be used to your advantage! Think a sake is slightly too sweet? Try serving it this way to bring it back in line with your preferences.
Aroma decreases, meaning less of the bright, fruity, ginjoka aromas you might get in serving a daiginjo chilled.
Umami decreases as well. I would not recommend trying a savory yamahai junmai with this method, as you’ll lose most of the interesting flavors in the base sake.
The perception of alcohol decreases. This is something even most college students know, as they stick their vodka in the freezer.
Bitterness increases. Think a Niigata-style tanrei karakuchi daiginjo that has its fruity notes balanced with a light bitterness. This will become unbalanced, as the fruitiness drops away and the bitterness rises to the forefront.
Overall, pretty much everything becomes more muted except for bitterness. Doesn’t particularly sound too appetizing, right? But just as chilled sake has a place, there’s a place for mizoresake at the table as well. With particular sakes, you can turn those “decreases” into an upside.
What sakes to try serve as mizoresake
If there’s so many potential drawbacks to freezing sake, what are the upsides? What sake works well with this method? Let’s look at a few styles that could work well.
Overly sweet nigori
Many of the nigori sakes offered in the US market lean very sweet. If it’s a bit too sweet for your palate, try it mizoresake to tamp that sweetness down. As these typically don’t rely on aroma or umami, you won’t lose much of the base flavor of the sake.
Overall, serving a sweet nigori as mizoresake can bring it more into balance by lowering the sweetness without losing much flavor.
“Modern” style ginjo
As mentioned above, a typically challenging aspect of many daiginjo sakes are that they’re too dry and bitter to work with this method. However, the more modern style ginjo sakes can get around this limitation.
By modern style ginjos, I’m referring to sakes made with elevated sweetness, extremely intense aromas and flavors, and some bright, residual CO2.
Using the criteria above, freezing this sake can drop the sweetness a bit and mute some of the aromas. However, because these sakes are typically very sweet and have such intense aromas, this brings them more in line with a “typical” ginjo sake. By having more sweetness and aroma up front, the dampening effect of the freezing doesn’t unbalance the sake.
One thing to note is that some of these sakes have elevated bitterness due to the modern yeasts they use. Try to avoid those, as that note may come to the forefront.
Sake that relies on other flavors
Many sakes aren’t purely umami or fruit bombs, and there’s a range of sakes in between. Some are mineral-driven, or incredibly acidic, or have a gentle salinity that goes well with food.
These styles of sake can work well, as they don’t necessarily rely on sweetness, aroma, or umami to carry them. The minerality, acidity, or salinity all will still exist in the sake. As long as the rest of the sake maintains balance, you’ll still get the enjoyment from the base sake
Instructions
Curious about trying this out at home? Try the following foolproof steps
Pour however much sake you want to drink into a separate container. Do not freeze the sake in the original bottle, as expansion during freezing means the bottle can break.
Place the covered vessel in your freezer along with the glass that you want to serve the sake in.
Wait about 2-3 hours. This depends on your vessel, your freezer, and how much sake there is. The key point is you’ll see the sake start to look a bit cloudy and ice crystals will have just started to form.
When you think it’s ready, take the glass and sake out of the freezer.
Pour into the glass from a bit of height! The agitation is what sets off the reaction that freezes the sake into a slush.
Enjoy!