Australian Penthouse

The sake exception
Sake (pronounced “sah-kee”) is the ultimate alcoholic hybrid: it’s not a spirit because it’s not distilled, it’s closer to wine because it’s fermented, but it’s also beer-like in that it’s made from a grain—rice. Claims that drinking sake results in little to no hangover stem from the process by which it’s created.

Processing
Using a milling machine, the rice is polished down to as little as 40 per cent of its original kernel size. The idea is to remove as much of the bran-rich layers as possible, leaving a pure starch heart. From here, the rice is washed, steamed and incubated with a combination of yeast and water to begin the fermentation. A process that will sound familiar to any home brewers out there. Once this is complete, the result is a pure alcoholic beverage that is free from sulphites, not to mention anti-allergenic and histamine-free.

Next up is junmai ginjo-shu, the middle level of quality as it relates to sake. This sake variety differs from junmai-shu by making use of more labour-intensive steps using highly polished rice of at least 60 per cent ofits original weight.
The final and highest quality sake is known as junmai daiginjo-shu. This is actually a sub-class of junmai ginjo-shu, albeit with more precise brewing methods, including extremely highly polished rice of at least 50 per cent of its original weight. 

Sake science
Experiment night consisted of me consuming more than half a bottle of straightjunmai-shu with a light meal of sushi. The sake was definitely an acquired taste, with no noticeable change in aroma or flavour when consumed at room temperature, chilled or on ice. This comes as no surprise, though, as this lower-quality type is certainly not renowned for its fragrant properties.

A note to the wise—it’s best to drink cheap sake either warm or icy as this will mask the less appealing taste. But back to the experiment…I woke up the next day sans hangover, proving to myself that sake is indeed an alcoholic beverage that can be enjoyed generously during the working week without worrying too muchabout nasty post-drinking side-effects.