Sake. Japan's Rice Wine

If you have decided to explore the culture and sights of the Land of the Rising Sun, you cannot avoid getting acquainted with sake. Tourists visiting Japan for the first time, seeing the walls of barrels wrapped in straw, wonder what they are and get the answer that this is how they store the national drink sake. You can see such storages near temples, at the Kabuki Theater, and at national Sumo tournaments. Sake is not only drunk here with pleasure and for various reasons, it is also presented as a gift to deities and heavenly patrons.

The strength of rice wine does not exceed 12-13 degrees. Sake (rice wine) is stored for a long time, not in barrels, of course. But in bottles and bottles made of glass or ceramics. The Japanese try not to keep sake in barrels too long, so that the smell of wood spoils it. In larger quantities they store it in steel containers when making sake for sale or export. Such barrels are usually standard, holding 72 liters. The Japanese buy large barrels for their celebrations, New Year and weddings. Such a big barrel costs about 100 thousand Japanese yen. There are also smaller barrels of 18 liters. These are purchased when they know there won't be many guests.

The opening of another such barrel is the main event of the feast. Two people are chosen from the guests and given a mallet. This is a wooden hammer. With jokes and laughter, the guests hit the bottom of the barrel with a hammer or two, knocking it out. This famous ceremony in Japan is called "kagami biraki," and it means something like opening a wine mirror.