by Griffith Frost

The "one stop" sake book designed for American readers! Sake 101 or "Good sake is always served chilled, mediocre sake can be served warm and bad sake...should be boiled!"

When I returned from 13 years of living in Japan, (where I enjoyed a fabulous variety of chilled sakes) I was shocked to find that 1) fresh premium chilled sakes were few and far between in the US and 2) 99.9% of all Americans thought sake was supposed to be served hot!.

I solved the first problem by building a premium sake brewery in Forest Grove, Oregon (I have 8 types of elegant, smooth and slightly exotic premium chilled sakes to select from daily).

But what to do about problem #2? I realized that the reason most Americans thought that sake should be served hot was because there was virtually no information widely available about sake for American consumers.

Plus, when I asked in Japanese restaurants why there were no premium chilled sakes, the answer was usually "Americans can't tell the difference between good sake and bad sake, so why serve good sake?".

Grrr...I know that if Americans are given the opportunity to learn and taste good sakes, that for sure, we will come to appreciate and prefer enjoying "the good stuff."

I contacted John Gauntner, the leading American sake expert in Japan, and asked him to help me write a book, specifically designed to educate Americans who wanted to learn about and enjoy sake in the US.

Saké Pure + Simple helps solve problem #2; discover the fascinating and delicious journey of exploring the world of premium chilled sakes.