Distilled Quotes

“Main ingredients: rice, distilled alcohol, brewing saccharides...' what's that all mean?"
"During the second World War, something called sanbaizōshu was created as a way to make sake from a small very small amount of rice."
"'Sanbaizōshu'?"
"Essentially, you take sake made the proper way but then dilute it until it's three times its original volume.
Besides water, the main additive is distilled grain alcohol, followed by malt syrup, glucose, and MSG to fix the flavor."
"What? You add a completely different alcohol that wasn't created during the brewing?!"
"Monosodium glutamate? I can't believe they'd add such a thing to a drink!"
"You're right. This isn't real sake. Although we now have an abundant supply of rice, the big beverage companies still make sanbaizōshu since it's an easy way for them to make a profit."
"But I trusted them because they're popular brands..."
"It's the other way around. Most of the large companies with huge advertising campaigns on TV and whatnot use this method."
"Then what about this bottle with "Junmaishu" on it?"
"It's from a small brewery in the countryside, a sake made from nothing but rice, kōji, and water.
This is the kind of sake that should have an ingredient label so that people can see that it's truly pure. It's a tragedy that we have it the other way around here in Japan.
Is there any other country in the world that's degraded their traditional drink like this?It's an important part of our culture and it's almost been destroyed.”
― Tetsu Kariya, Sake

“She took a sip of Armagnac and savored the caramel, cherry, dark chocolate, and lavender flavors.
"How do they make this?" she asked.
"It's basically brandy, distilled wine, but made in a more rustic, artisanal way.”
― Emily Arden Wells, Eat Post Like