An extra-relaxing beverage for the coldest time of the year.

It’s that time of year, when winter’s icy fingers start reaching out to chill our bones. While piling on extra layers of clothing is one way to fight off the cold, it’s often a more effective strategy to warm yourself up from the core, say, with a relaxing cup of hot soup.

And hey, wouldn’t that cup of soup be even more relaxing if it was alcoholic?

That’s the inarguable logic behind this new offering from Japanese food and beverage company Mitsubishi Shokuhin. Created in partnership with Toyo Beverage and soy sauce/soup stock maker Yamasa, Nihonshu no Dashiwari is exactly what its name translates to: sake mixed with traditional Japanese soup stock (dashi).

It’s meant to be drunk hot, and the cup it comes in is microwave safe (recommended heating times are 30 seconds for 1,500-watt microwaves, 60 seconds for 600 watts, and 70 seconds for 500 watts). And no, this isn’t like rum cake where the heat burns off all the alcohol, as even after microwaving the sake soup retains a 4-percent alcohol content.

▼ So gulping one down for a breakfast-on-the-go before work is probably a bad idea.

The ratio of Nihonshu no Dashiwari is one part sake to three parts dashi. That dashi is based on Yamasa’s Shoyu Shirodashi stock, made with kombu (kelp), bonito flakes, mackerel, and soy sauce. Despite the marine-intensive ingredient list, dashi isn’t particularly fishy tasting (it’s commonly used for udon and soba noodle broths, as well as oden stewed dishes), and Mitsubishi Shokuhin boasts that Nihonshu no Dashiwari has a smooth yet complex flavor profile that balances sweet, salty, and tart notes.

Nihonshu no Dashiwari is on sale now, priced at 198 yen (US$1.90). And if you want yet another unique way to enjoy sake, don’t forget that Mos Burger’s sake milkshake is right around the corner.

Source: PR Times via Entabe, Yamasa
Top image: PR Times
Insert images: PR Times, Pakutaso
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