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日本酒 (にほんしゅ, Nihon-shu) is Sake — a Japanese food (alcohol, beverages).
What is Sake?
Nihonshu (literally "Japanese liquor") refers to what in the West is usually called "sake". The Japanese word sake (酒) can refer to any alcoholic drink. As with wine, the recommended serving temperature of sake varies greatly by type. Sake is served chilled, at room temperature, or heated, depending on the preference of the drinker, the quality of the sake , and the season. Typically, hot sake is a winter drink, and high-grade sake is not drunk hot, because the flavors and aromas will be lost. Sake is traditionally drunk from small cups called choko (猪口) or ochoko and poured into the cup from ceramic flasks called tokkuri (徳利). This is very common for hot sake , where the flask is heated in hot water and the small cups ensure that the sake does not get cold in the cup. Another traditional cup is the masu , a box that was originally used for measuring rice. The masu holds exactly 180 ml, so the sake is served by filling the masu to the brim. Saucer-like cups called sakazuki are also used, most commonly at weddings and other ceremonial occasions, such as the start of the year or at the beginning of a kaiseki meal. There are two basic types of sake: futsū-shu (酒, ordinary sake) and tokutei meishō-shu (特定名称酒, special-designation sake). Futsū-shu is the equivalent of table wine and accounts for the majority of sake produced. Tokutei meishō-shu refers to premium sakes distinguished by the degree to which the rice has been polished and the added percentage of brewer's alcohol or the absence of such additives.