How-to
Warm sake in a water bath or microwave, with target temperatures, timings for each method, and which bottles are better left cold.
Warm sake is not the right call for every bottle. A premium sake can lose the fragrance its brewer worked to keep, while a plainer bottle often tastes fuller when heated. Before you reach for a kettle, decide which kind you are holding, then choose the method that gets it to the right temperature.
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Most sake has a recommended serving temperature printed on its label, and that suggestion is the place to start. Hot sake should rarely go much higher than 55 degrees Celsius (131 degrees Fahrenheit), and some bottles are best at room temperature, so the label can rule out warming altogether.
For most warm sake, aim for the range of about 40 to 50 degrees Celsius. That window brings out the rice aroma and the savory notes without pushing the drink into harsh territory.
Any heat-safe vessel will do, as long as it does not get in the way of the heating. A tokkuri is a carafe used to pour sake into a small cup called an ochoko. It is often ceramic, which suits heating well, but its narrow spout can be a chore to wash.
Many people reach for a katakuchi instead, a vessel with a wide mouth that pours and washes easily, or a chirori, a large metal cup with a more modern look.
The water bath is the traditional method, and it heats the sake gently and evenly. The best sake set comparison lists which warmer kits hold a bottle in a bowl of hot water, though any pot and vessel can do the same job. Ceramic can crack when boiling water hits it in cold weather, so one maker suggests rinsing the vessel with warm water before adding the boiling water.
A microwave is the quick route, but it only suits a vessel labeled microwave safe. Heat in short bursts, stopping partway through to stir so the temperature evens out, because the top and bottom of the sake will not match on their own.
As a reference point, a 500W microwave took about 60 seconds to bring a tokkuri of sake to 40°C and about 80 seconds to reach 50°C. The time depends on the amount of sake and the microwave, so check the temperature rather than trusting the clock.
Premium junmai and ginjo styles usually go better cold, because heat dulls the delicate flavor and the fruity, floral aromas that define them. Sake above roughly 15 to 16 percent alcohol, and fruity bottles in general, generally do not go as well warm, so check the label before you heat one.