Ebisu puts sake back in the spotlight

If you skip to the next section when you see sake on a menu, Ebisu manager Wayne Shennen is on a mission to change your mind about the often misunderstood drink.

"Most people think they don't like it," he says. "But it's not as complicated as people think it is. It's a really fun product, and it's not an acquired taste."

Having spent time working at a sake brewery in Japan, before embarking on an extensive international course to become a certified sake professional, Wayne knows a thing or two about the traditional Japanese liquor.

While interest in sake is steadily growing, Wayne says many Japanese people have misgivings about the drink, so convincing Kiwis to give it a try can be a tricky task.

However, most people who order a glass of hot or cold sake at Ebisu end up loving the smooth finish and intricate flavours.

As well as a large range of other drinks, Ebisu boasts 35 different varieties of sake, including a bespoke blend called Sanshimai. The boutique drink is created by a small family of master sake makers, and is infused with lively hints of tropical fruit, developed to appeal to the Kiwi palate.

After the drink is made to Wayne's exact specifications, it's shipped over to Auckland direct from the Japanese brewery, and sold exclusively at Ebisu restaurant.

Wayne says traditional Japanese sake production took a nosedive during the Second World War, when food rations meant sake makers weren't allowed to use the normal amount of rice to create the drink, so they started improvising with cheap spirits to add bulk to the product.

The resulting taste was so rough it put people off in droves, and the sake industry went into a sad decline. That was until one producer in the early 1980's went back to creating sake the traditional way - with rice, plus plenty of attention to detail, in a bid to create the superior flavours that had been lost over the decades.

"If you've ever tried bad sake and felt that strong burning after swallowing, that's because cheap alcohol has been added to it," Wayne says. "But real sake uses only four or five ingredients.

"At the top sake breweries, they work 19-hour days and are supplying Michelin- starred restaurants," he adds. "Nothing is incidental. This is art."

Since that early 80's revival, the sake industry has been bouncing back, and the drink is becoming increasingly popular with a new wave of sake enthusiasts, both here and abroad.

Wayne reckons Ebisu sake is the perfect partner to the fresh, contemporary Japanese fare served at the restaurant, and matches particularly well with the pork belly, a popular dish on the menu. As the weather gets warmer, cold sake goes down a treat with prawns or scallops.

And his advice for sake beginners? "Don't be afraid to ask questions, and don't be intimidated by it. Just give it a try."

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