A lot of people will want to flavour their handcrafted sake. Suddenly everything from anise to pomengranate will seem like an interesting idea. This is generally a very risky business, and here is a brief note to warn you of the potential problems in doing so, whilst showing you some useful alternatives.

Firstly, consider that you have about three months to create your sake. During this time, the alcoholic constitution of your fermenting beauty will change (sometimes quite swiftly) and be constantly throwing your calculations off.

The main problem in flavouring sake is that the potency of the extracting essence of whatever 100% natural thing you put on it will change without warning, and there is no way to control or put a lid on how much of it makes it to your precious sake-to-be.

Here is an example:

If you read my previous post, you’ll remember that I brewed a batch with cinnamon bark and orange peel (two separarate carboys) I added these right after the press, with about 50 days to go until the bottling day. Things were quite ok after the first racking, but then the alcoholic content of the brewing sake started to increase, and by the second racking the essence extracted by both carboys was extremely overwhelming. I discarded all of the solids and kept the liquid, but by then it was too late. The batch did not go to waste, quite contrary: It made the perfect mixing sake for this year’s summer, but it was not a fine batch to brag about.

Must we abandon all experimentation? Certainly not.

Is there a better way? I think so.

If you must flavour your sake (although I’m sure Nobunaga wouldn’t drink it if he was alive) the best thing I can recommend at this point is to do it during the first pasteurization. Particularly if your flavouring comes from dried leaves or solids. Just throw it in there until the temperature of your sake rises up to 140F (60C), and then keep it for the last couple of weeks of aging, or remove it if you are bottling immediately without a second pasteurization (Not a second pasteurization, you say? What are you talking about? Ah…wait for my next post)

Done this way, the provided flavour will be subtle (like all beautiful things in life) and will not obscure the beautiful precision and diligent care you dedicated to your current sake batch.\nWhat are good sake flavourings?

No idea. So far I’ve tried orange (don’t recommend it), cinnamon (…maybe), oak (not bad…) and dried cherry blossoms. This last one turned out to be amazing, following the method I have just described above.

Good luck! If you find a good flavour combination, please let me know!