Sunday, February 17, 2008

Saké Sunday: New Converts

Welcome to Saké Sunday!

During the last few weeks, I have been very glad to see a few wine bloggers who have tried and enjoyed some chilled Sake. Dr. Debs of Good Wine Under $20 tried her first chilled Saké and loved it. Jill of Domaine547 tried around 16 different Sakés and may begin selling some from her online store. Carol of Pour More enjoyed a Nigori and posted a review of it.

I am glad that all three experiences were positive. I hope that others will try some chilled Saké as well. I truly believe that if you try a few chilled Sakés you will find that you enjoy them. They can be quite flavorful, complex and nothing like that hot Saké that you might have once had at an Asian restaurant.

It is interesting, though maybe just coincidental, that all three bloggers who tried chilled Saké recently were women. I don't see Saké as a drink that should appeal to any specific gender. It should appeal to all equally. Or do others see it differently? Are there men or women who see Saké as a more feminine drink? Or a more masculine drink?

Could this reflect the general perception that women tend more to be white wine drinkers and men more red wine drinkers? Is Saké perceived as similar to a white wine, and thus more apt for a woman?

Personally, I know more men than women that drink chilled Saké. And none of them have ever indicated that they see Saké as being feminine. So maybe it is just coincidence that three female bloggers chose to try some Saké.

4 comments:

Hiroko and Rick said...

Hi Richard san!

Sake Sunday is a great idea! Your question of gender is interesting. At our store SAKAYA, we get an equal ratio of men and women. In general, people who come to our store are more interested in trying something new, love Japanese food, and love sake. Both women and men, all ages, and diverse racial background and ethnicity.

Couple men asked us about the higher alcohol sake. Higher alcoholic drink means being masculine?

Other thought is...more female customers ask us about sparkling sake, nigori, and lower alcohol sake. Those sake tend to be sweeter, so those people (women) who love to drink sweet cocktail drinks prefer sparkling or nigori sake to Junmai type sake....maybe...

kanpai!

hiroko

Anonymous said...

FWIW: More men purchase sake from my store than women.

Anonymous said...

Wait, let me rephrase that: More men than women purchase sake from my store. I should reread my comments before I publish them, LOL!

Richard Auffrey said...

Hello Hiroko san:
Thanks for your input on this issue. It is interesting when I see studies where more women buy wine than men. So what about Sake? Your experience seems to be about 50/50, though it is interesting as well the types of Sake that women seek more often.

Hi Carol:
Thanks for your input as well. Now you have a different view than Sakaya. What is the percentage of men vs women buying Sake? And do you see women buying more of the sparkling sake, nigori, low alcohol?

Thanks all!