It can be sweet. It can be tangy. And as of December, it has also been enshrined by UNESCO. The United Nation’s culture agency placed sake, the iconic Japanese drink, on its list of “intangible cultural heritage of humanity.”
Sake, a fermented rice wine, has been a cornerstone of Japanese culture for over two millennia. To understand what makes it so special, The World visited one of Japan’s oldest breweries — Fukumitsuya, in the historic city of Kanazawa.
A 400-Year-Old Tradition
It all starts with water.
At Fukumitsuya, which has been crafting sake for nearly 400 years, it means relying on pristine water sourced from nearby Mount Hakusan.
Akemi Hiraki, a cheerful guide at the brewery, handed out samples of this luxurious water, which she said “takes more than 100 years to come down the mountain to [Fukumitsuya’s] water well.”
This water is used to make sake — a beverage deeply rooted in Japanese history and craftsmanship.
At its core, sake is made from three key ingredients: water, rice, and koji — a mold that breaks down rice starch into sugar, kickstarting fermentation.
This process is carefully overseen by the brewery’s toji, or master brewer, who monitors the sake mash daily, checking its aroma, sweetness and acidity to determine the ideal time to press it.
In the pressing room, the liquid is separated from the rice solids, leaving behind a byproduct called sake kasu, which is repurposed in food and cosmetics.
More than just sake bombs
Once the brewing process is complete, learning how to enjoy sake properly is the next step.
Monica Samuels, the president of the sake import group Kome Collective, spends a good chunk of the year traveling across Japan in search of the country’s best sake.
At a bustling sake bar inside a Japanese train station, she explained how different sakes range in flavor and talked through a tasting experience.
The sake ranged from fruity to dry, and it was apparent that the drink offers far more depth than many Americans realize.
For decades, sake’s reputation in the US was tied to mass-produced versions served at sushi restaurants, often consumed in shots known as sake bombs.
Samuels believes that UNESCO’s designation could help change that perception and introduce more people to the craftsmanship behind authentic Japanese sake.
“Many [Americans] have only had sake experiences like that, and it’s really cheap and really harsh, so they think it’s like vodka,” she said. “But now, with the art of sake being recognized, there’s an opportunity to showcase its true identity.”
As Japan celebrates sake’s inclusion on UNESCO’s list, brewers and enthusiasts alike hope this newfound recognition will help preserve and elevate the tradition for generations to come.