Product Review

Once found only in sushi bars and Japanese restaurants in the U.S., sake now lines the shelves of our gourmet food shops, liquor stores, supermarkets, and restaurants of all types. And as sake increasingly becomes a part of the way we dine and entertain, Americans everywhere are looking for guidance in sorting out the confusing and intimidating array of choices available. In The Book of Sake, brewmaster Philip Harper provides all the information anyone needs to discover the many true pleasures of Japan's national tipple. Harper, the only non-Japanese to rise to the official rank of "master brewer," shows readers how to select a good sake and match a selection with food. He describes each type of sake, how it is produced and acquires its distinctive flavor and bouquet, and how it is best appreciated.
Next, Harper introduces a collection of sake lore, a guide to reading sake labels, a groundbreaking new tasting chart, and a selection of sakes for all palates and pocketbooks by the esteemed sake critic Haruo Matsuzaki. To round out the volume Harper offers highlights of Japan's sake regions, then presents perhaps the most intriguing tour of the sake brewmaster's art ever to be published in English.