James Bond is a Moron

James Bond once commented on the perfect temperature for sake (by the way - it's pronounced Sa-kay, not "Sa-kee" which means "earlier" or "before") - After some inane banter about how women come second if at all, he mentions the ideal temperature sake.

Well that is a load of unchi - There are apparently a number of temperatures at which sake can be served. First there is reishu (冷酒), which is chilled sake - ideally served at around 10 degrees centigrade (use the converter at the bottom for Fahrenheit)

Next is straight from the bottle or hiya (ひや）

From there to James Bond's malarkey are a number of levels with a variety of names. The next one I could find was called hito no hada (人の肌) meaning a person's skin - roughly 30 degrees or so.

Then comes nurukan (ぬる燗) which is luke warm - around 40 - 50 degrees

Finally is atsukan (熱燗 ) which is the real hot stuff around 70

There are a variety of levels in between to suit people's tastes. Apparently one trick to getting more bang for your yen is to order one temperature and whinge about it being too hot or cold and getting them to top it off with a bit more of a lower/higher temperature.

The great thing about atsukan is that even the grungiest gutter sake is palatable at these high temperatures.

For the lower temperatures, especially hiya and reishu, you need to have the good stuff or else the bite is a bit much.