Book Review: Sake Confidential by John Gauntner - Do You Have Room on Your Bookshelf?

"To me, perhaps the coolest thing about sake is the way it combines simplicity and complexity. You need to know so very little to enjoy it immediately. Yet should you be interested in learning more, the more you look into it, the deeper and deeper the rabbit hole goes."

John Gauntner, Sake Confidential p.175

Before I get to the book, a little bit of my own thoughts.

To be honest, in the back of my mind, before I cracked the binding on the spine Mr. Gauntner's sixth (technically) book, Sake Confidential: a Beyond the Basics Guide to Understanding, Tasting, Selection and Enjoyment, I was kind of wondering what direction the author would take with this book.

Sake lovers in the English speaking world have already been treated to:

Sake, Pure and Simple (1999)*

The Sake Companion, (2000)

The Sake Handbook, (2002)

The Sake Notebook, and  Sake's Hidden Stories, (2012).

* with Griffith Frost

Was there anything left out there that he hadn't covered in his prior books? Is there anything in here new?

Of course there is.

 But that question really is not important if you are like me, always looking to leap down deeper into the simple yet complex rabbit hole that is the world of sake. And hey, the world is coming on to premium sake in a major way. Things in the industry are changing and will continue to evolve. There can't be enough books on the topic, if you ask me!

But on to the book.

Sake Confidential is written in a style that Gauntner's readers have come to know and enjoy: conversational, straightforward, earnest, unpretentious, and passionate. Having taken the author's Sake Professional Course, I can happily say that the tone of this book reminded me of being in the classroom with him again. That and some familiar phrases, such as the admonition that, in the sake world, there are always exceptions to generally acknowledged "rules." It does bear repeating.

In addition to the style in which it is written, I really appreciate the reader-friendly structure of the book. It is organized into three parts: "Sake Secrets," "How the Industry Really Works," and "The Brewer's Art Revealed." Within those three parts, are 27 short but informative topical chapters. Each is devoted to revealing "The truth about _____," (insert one aspect of the world of sake in the blank, milling, for example) Starting with the basics, and working its way into greater detail by the end.

So, if you aren't overly interested in the topic of the chapter, say, Nigorizake, - skip it. It'll be there for reference later when you are struggling to think of that Kyoto kura that reintroduced the practice of brewing nigori in 1966. (Hint, hint- It starts with 'Tsuki')

But if you're like me, you won't be able to bring yourself to skip a page.

And if you do choose to read the book cover-to-cover, you'll be rewarded by the useful sidebars in each chapter recommending a particular sake the eschews some of the points he makes in that chapter. So, in theory, you could drink along as you read! Now that would be an experience. I will gladly do it, if some one can supply me the 27 bottles.

Especially fascinating were Mr. Gauntner's pointers on developing tasting ability, a kind of post-chapter included at the end of the book filled with good advice. There were some neat ideas in there alone that made it worth the cover price.

So to sake lovers out there, I recommend you add this book to your sake library.  Be it your first book on the subject or your twefth, Sake Confidential undoubtedly deserves a place on your bookshelf.

And to Mr. John Gauntner, should you read this, thank you for once again leading us back down the 'rabbit hole' of our favorite tipple, and for being yet again our tireless, discerning, lively guide. You keep writing them, we'll keep reading them.