Drink of the week: Sawanotsuru sake

Always on the ball Aldi announced this week that it had added a sake to its drinks range. Not quite the bargain it first appears when you discover the bottle is £3.99 for just 300ml but that’s enough for two and interesting nonetheless.

It’s sweeter than I would ideally like with that characteristic creamy, earthy, slightly nutty flavour that’s typical of the drink which, as you may know is brewed from rice. Think a dry(ish) pale cream sherry - it’s roughly sherry strength at 14.5%

It’s maybe slightly too sweet for sushi - certainly sashimi - but would go with, say, salmon teriyaki, miso glazed quail or a sesame noodle salad.

It may not be the best example out there (if you’re in London there are better options at the Japan Centre) but they’ve probably pitched the sweetness right for a new audience and if it gets people into sake all to the good. (Watch other supermarkets now leap on the sake bandwagon!)

Oh, and it comes in a rather lovely decorative box.