Just as there are wine and whiskey decanters, sake has its own carafes. They come in different colors, shapes and materials. The one you’ll see most frequently at Japanese restaurants and bars in the U.S. is the “tokkuri.” Often hourglass-shaped, tokkuri are used both to heat sake and to hold sake. You’ll often see these carafes, like the “Shohogama” Somekarakusa Tokkuri, paired with small sake cups called “ochoko” and “guinomi.” When made of ceramic, tokkuri can be used to heat sake, but with glass, it’s best to stick to chilled sake.
