What is Sake?

Sake, a Japanese alcoholic drink that is made from rice, and is called in Japan nihonshy, (alcohol Japanese), sake is the way Japanese rice liquor is known in the West, and it can reach 15 to 20 degrees of alcohol.
We know sake as rice wine, but as we will see, wine is grape extract, which is why sake is classified as a liquor, as it is an alcoholic beverage. The production of alcoholic beverages by fermentation of the grain is most common in beer, and in spirits such as whiskey and vodka.
In the West, we understand rice liquor as sake, which is made in Japan, where it has many different concepts, because "sake" can also refer to alcoholic beverages in different regions of Japan, In southern Kyushu, "sake" refers to a distilled beverage called imo-jochu (imo-jochu'shōchu de potato). In Okinawa, "sake" refers to either sugarcane shōchu or awamori (awamori literally "foam on top"), or kūsū, literally "stale drink". These latter forms of sake are long grain rice distilled with black kōji or kurokōji.

Its history, is not completely clear and not yet documented, it is believed that it began in China, around 4800 BC. C. then going to Japan.
During the following centuries, the technique and preparation was in rapid evolution, reaching what we know today. During the 20th century, the technology of making sake advanced a lot. The government established the Sake Making Research Institute in 1904, and the first government trial of sake tasting was conducted in 1907.
There are many microorganisms that contribute to its realization, and the empirical control of these, is what led to the elaboration of the different kinds of rice liquor in Japan.
Its elaboration is not the same as that of beer, since it cannot be malted and when it is left without the husk, it is you have to add a mold, which is grown on cooked rice exclusively for this preparation.