The drink that drinks the man

SAKE
A japanese drink, made from fermented rice, Sake is colourless and has a fairly sweet flavour witha bitter after-taste.

Sake is closely linkedwith japanese relegious and social life and has existed for more than a thousand years. At a Shinto wedding, the couple drink several mouthfuls of cold sweetened sake from little lacquer bowls, though sake is otherwise traditionally drunk warm or even hot. There are several types, ranging from sweet to dry. In particular, a distinction is made between mirin, which is mostly used in cookery, toso, whichis sweet and spicy and with which the New Year is celeberated, and seishu, which is often exported. Sake is drunk from tiny tumblers as an aperitif ( in this casea little salt is sometimes placed on the tongue before each mouthful), or else to accompany sashimi( Japanese raw fish preperatioan), crudites, or grilled(broiled) or fried foods. It is also used a great deal in cookery, especially in shellfish, white fish and prawn ( shrimp) dishes. In sake bars, where men meet together, sake is drunk alternately with beer. According to a Japanese proverb, "it is the man who drinks the first bottle of sake; then the second bottle drinks the first, and finally it is the sake that drinks the man."