FAQ

Do you guys wholesale?
We do. Please check our wholsesale page out.

What is sake?!?!
Good question. Think of it as a wine – to be enjoyed with friends or sipped with food. Have a look at our Sake Guide for more information.

What does sake taste like?
Another good question! Pop on over to our page on flavours & aromas to discover the kinds of tastes you might encounter.

Sake’s crazy alcoholic, right?
Nope! Years of sake bombs have jaded people’s perceptions of sake. The average alcohol percentage is around 15%. You can get some lower and some higher, the maximum is 20% (although this is quite rare!) We’ve a some at 13% and some even lower, down at 9 or 10%

I wanna heat my sake up! How do I do this?
Whoa, there! Did you know that a lot of sake is best served cold? No? Check out our sake and temperature page. If you did know this, well done! The best way to warm your sake is in a water bath, basically a saucepan of hot water with your carafe or bottle of sake sitting inside. Best not to sit it in boiling water and best to have turned the flame off before you submerge the bottle. Microwaving is not criminal but I got frowned at quite hard by the brewers I suggested this to in Japan!

Why should I buy my sake from you?
We have carefully put together a portfolio of 29 sakes from 7 award-winning Japanese breweries; no two sakes are the same. We know our products, know the people who made it, know their families, and have visited all the breweries in person. These guys are the bees knees at what they do and we’ve tried very hard to ensure that the sake they make arrives in your glass in perfect condition.

Furthermore, we try our hardest to help the non Japanese-speaking consumer understand and enjoy our sake, that’s why we gave each of our sake an easy-to-remember English name and developed our unique pictogram system allowing at-a-glance understanding of a sake’s character, flavour and serving temperature (on this website you can even filter your search results using these!) We also label all our bottles in English so you know what you’re getting and what to do with it!

I’ve heard sake has some health benefits, is this true?
Er… kinda…! Let’s not beat around the bush here, sake is an alcoholic beverage and, as such, probably cannot be regarded as a ‘health drink’! However, there is a mounting body of research arguing that the abundant amino acids – building blocks of proteins – found in sake have regenerative properties and health benefits; the Japanese have long been making skin creams and bath soaks from sake.

Whether you buy into this or not (and personally, having seen the complexion of some of the older brewers, I absolutely do!) what we know for sure is that compared with wine, for example, sake has on average a third of the sugars, a third of the acidity, a third of the calories, no tannins and no additives of any kind. This is great news for those of us that struggle with acid reflux or diabetes or, indeed, those of us that are watching our weight!

What’s your delivery policy?
You can read our full delivery policy here but, in a nutshell, it says:

Free delivery on all orders over £120 or 6 bottles (whichever comes first) to the UK mainland (excluding Scotland). For delivery to Scotland please contact us directly.
For orders less than the minimum order there is a delivery charge of £9.99 for the first bottle, reducing by £2 for every additional bottle until the minimum order for free delivery is reached.
For London orders placed before midday we will endeavour to deliver by the next working day. All other deliveries should be delivered within 5 working days.
We will endeavour to email you on the day of your delivery.
You MUST stipulate a ‘safe place’ or a nearby alternate delivery address where your order will be left if you are not there to receive it.
Namazake is a perishable good and must be kept refrigerated. It will tolerate a few hours of not being refrigerated but we cannot accept responsibility for namazake that spoils if your nominated ‘safe place’ or alternate delivery address is unsuitable.

What’s so special about namazake, why does it need to be refrigerated?
Sake is usually pasteurised to preserve it, namazake has not been through this process and so it is liable to spoil if it is not refrigerated. The up side, though, is that is has a wonderful fresh and zesty characteristic which you simply cannot get from a pasteurised sake. NB – this doesn’t make it better, just different!

Why are my orders being delivered from this company, LCB?
Vinotheque are our distribution partners, all deliveries are fulfilled by them; however, If you have a problem contact Tengu Sake.

Do I have to drink sake out of a special cup?
No, not at all, drink sake out of whatever you like! Although we recommend a white wine glass with a tapered top (such as a Riesling glass) for chilled, aromatic sake and a sake cup (guinomi or choko) for warm sake. Check out the sake wares we have for sale.

How long will my sake keep?
If kept cool and dark, unopened sake should last you about a year to a year-and-a-half from the date on the bottle (the bottling date). Once opened, it’s best to refrigerate your sake and then it should last about a week or two. Less polished sake tolerates being kept open for longer (delicately balanced daiginjo will tend to become unbalanced more swiftly). Namazake must be kept refrigerated at all times. Unopened it should last a year or so, opened a few days. Further info here.

Something’s wrong with my order, what should I do?
Contact us directly by email: contact@tengusake.com or telephone: 020 3129 5044. Please have your order number handy.

Where else can I drink/buy Tengu Sake?
We supply a variety of fabulous restaurants, bars and specialist alcohol shops. Check out our list of customers.

What are your Master Specs all about?
We have a blog entry on this!

What data do you store on your users?
Please see our Privacy Policy.