5 Sake Bombing Tips

Here are 5 sake bombing tips to get you started on your evening of debauchery or nightcap of doom. Unlike the martini, no one is really fighting over the historical rights of the sake bomb. Some say it was invented by American servicemen during the occupation of Japan and others say it was Japanese businessmen who saw people in America drinking boilermakers. Regardless, it is a pretty simple concept. Dump rice wine into brew and slam contents. But the drinking techniques are as endless as the grains of rice that will fill your toilet bowl at the end of the evening.

1. Sake. One of the five sake bombing tips that lead people to believe this curious concoction was probably invented by Americans is the quality of the sake involved. It is always the cheap stuff. It would be insulting to use high quality sake so most restaurants and bars will use either the cooking sake or ‘house’ sake. So if given the choice, have the sake warmed up. Warming up sake helps disguise the taste of the cheaper bottles.
2. Beer. Don’t overfill your beer glass. This is one of the important five sake bombing tips. Sake bombs are meant to be pounded and never sipped. Also, choose a light draft beer over any dark beers because the taste will be easier to get down and keep down.
3. Place. Make sure the place is cool with sake bombs and the boisterous behavior that often accompanies this curious shooter. If you are in a fancy Japanese restaurant the servers might not even know what a sake bomb is. If you have to explain what a sake bomb is, they will probably make one for you. But they will also loathe you as well.
4. Kampai. Sake bombing tips to consider involve the technique rather than the toast. The toast is always the same. Yell, “Kam-pai!”, when toasting with sake. As far as the technique, you are only limited by your imagination. Or skull. A common way of enjoying sake bombs is to balance the shot of sake between two chopsticks over your beer. Drunks enjoy chanting stuff like, “Sa-ke, sa-ke, sa-ke BOMB!” Slam the table with your hand, the shot falls in and you swig it. But as the night progresses, people will grow more creative. Busty women have an obvious hands free method to employ while drunken males enjoy beating their heads against the bar.
5. Eat. An important sake bombing tip is to eat. After a few rounds of this madness you will feel a bit flushed. Even if you hate raw fish, freak out on broiled eel and think fish roe is only used to catch trout, you still need to eat because beer and rice wine are a challenging combination. Try the cucumber rolls, edamame (boiled soy beans and salt) and there will most likely some sort of tempura (fried vegetables, shrimp and fish) plate available. But maybe after a half gallon or so of sake bombs, you will work up the nerve to try some delicious sashimi.

Warning:

• If you employ the head thumping technique for your sake bomb, make sure the bar is not solid oak. Also, dumb macho pride dictates you keep slamming your melon against the wood until either the sake or you fall over.