Actually, sake can be enjoyed cold, warm, or hot. Having the sake serve at a warm temperature doesn’t mean there is anything inherently wrong with the sake itself.
The purpose of changing the temperature, as you pointed out, is to change the flavor notes. Having a particular sake cold may bring out fruitier notes while warming it up gives it an extra layer of vanilla. This is just an example. All sake have different notes and it can be really subjective on what notes are being registered. The ability to change the flavor drastically just by temperature is what makes sake interesting. This legit use isn’t just limited to subpar sake, but to the entire quality spectrum sake as well. So it really depends on many factors like the intended temperature consumption by the brewery or the establishment you are consuming the sake at (they want particular notes to come up so it goes well with the pairing of a dish, for example), or the most important: consumers palate.
Playing with the temperature is akin to whisky drinking: neat vs on the rocks vs water dropper. Each preparation changes the flavor and aren’t necessary bad.
You are correct that warming up bad quality sake can mask the undesirable attributes.
"At the risk of overgeneralizing, many sake experts say that ginjo and daiginjo sakes are usually best not warmed (since being served chilled enhances their flavors and aromas), while many junmai and honjozo sakes do well either way (since warming these types of sakes tends to draw out their complex flavors and smooth them out a bit)."
Partially but it affirms my point that you disagreed with. My point from the beginning was that “nice” sake that was polished more and costs a lot (a Junmai Ginjo or Junmai Daiginjo for example) will be served cold. Many of the more alcoholic sake styles and cheaper sakes will be served hot or cold. The heat can help hide impurities but it can also play down (or change) the heavier alcohol flavors.
So yes I agree certain styles will be served warm and might have different and interesting taste profiles depending on temperature like your whisky example. But ultimately, warming the sake will tend to hide the subtle flavors that the sake maker did all the extra rice polishing to achieve, so it wouldn’t be recommended for a nice Junmai Daiginjo. The poster I replied to tried to falsely claim that hot sake would better pull out these subtle flavors, which I cannot find any reference for and does not agree with my experience drinking and reading about sake.
401(k) deadlines are calendar year. Are you thinking of something like the Roth IRA, where the deadline for the earmarking of contributions for the previous year is April 15?
The store which had it only had one bottle and just sold it. Looks like your post triggered many calls to the store. The clerk knew exactly what I was calling for, haha.
Have you considered offering a savory snacks crate, which doesn't consist of majority ramen?
Japan Crate has the Umai crate, which we (Tofugu) subscribed to for six months; majority of the contents were ramen :/ Was hoping for some chips and other goodies.
as someone operating a similar candy subscription service, we have been considering that offering (a savory snacks box) but the issue with shipping things like chips is that they have so much air in the packaging itself. this is a problem because let's say we ship in a small box, which for us usually contains around 1kg of candies, it can only contain at most four small bags of chips. for four bags of chips, taking shipping costs into consideration, it would cost close to 40 dollars, with more than half of the costs coming from shipping. would people really be willing to pay 40-50 a month for 4 bags of exotic chips?
What was the cost analysis like to include a diverse selection of savory items? Filling an entire box with chips is definitely not cost effective, but including one with a mix of other goods seems plausible? Is there demand for a "snacks" box consisting of sweet and savory?
The problem I had with Umai crate was nearly every box was just ramen. Might as well call it the ramen box.
well yeah there were some demand for snack boxes from customers who were keen on Japanese chocolates and confectionaries like Pocky, Glico as well as exotic chip flavors from Asia. interestingly, there was even a request for a ramen box. it's not something we've written off entirely, it's definitely something my business partner and i still discuss from time to time. if you genuinely are interested in a savory box, drop me an email at sales@supercandyshop.com. i'd be willing to start that new line if there is even a single interested subscriber. i will make sure there's no ramen haha.
If one spends time integrating into their society (for example, learn their language instead of just using English all the time), then one may be treated a little more positively. They don't expect you to speak Thai because they see you as someone who won't stick around and as a result, like you said, merely a money source.
I agree 100%. I am currently an expat with local language skills. When other expats complain about getting treated differently because they're foreigners, and then you find out they've been here 10 years and have no local language skills, it's easy to understand why.
The purpose of changing the temperature, as you pointed out, is to change the flavor notes. Having a particular sake cold may bring out fruitier notes while warming it up gives it an extra layer of vanilla. This is just an example. All sake have different notes and it can be really subjective on what notes are being registered. The ability to change the flavor drastically just by temperature is what makes sake interesting. This legit use isn’t just limited to subpar sake, but to the entire quality spectrum sake as well. So it really depends on many factors like the intended temperature consumption by the brewery or the establishment you are consuming the sake at (they want particular notes to come up so it goes well with the pairing of a dish, for example), or the most important: consumers palate.
Playing with the temperature is akin to whisky drinking: neat vs on the rocks vs water dropper. Each preparation changes the flavor and aren’t necessary bad.
You are correct that warming up bad quality sake can mask the undesirable attributes.