Japan’s nihonshu (Japanese rice wine, or sake ) consumption has continually declined since its peak in the 1970s. Tokyo-based business Sakeice is spreading sake awareness locally and abroad with its own innovative method: ice cream. Unlike a typical ice cream shop displaying flavors in a riot of lurid colors, the Sakeice store, next to Tokyo station in Yaesu, sells a range of mostly plain, white ice cream.
Sakeice, however, is far from vanilla — it makes Japan’s (and most likely the world’s) first and only high-alcohol, adults-only ice cream using real sake. Other sake-flavored ice creams are made with sake lees (sake production leftover solids) or trace amounts of sake with about 1% alcohol. A 100-milliliter cup of Sakeice ice cream contains around 25 milliliters of sake (about 4% alcohol).
Its customers must be at least 20 years old and it’s not recommended for people who are pregnant or planning on driving. The best selling flavor features Niigata’s popular Hakkaisan sake — its delicate, refreshing taste and aroma is renowned for pairing well with food. The Hokkaido Otokoyama sake flavor is sharper and deeper.
In 2020, it won the Superior Taste Award in the International Taste Institute’s global competition. New varieties showcasing different sakes from across Japan are introduced every month. Other flavors include sake with chocolate, matcha (powdered green tea) or yuzu (a type of Japanese citrus) and rotating non-alcoholic options such as pink rice or riz.
