Minnesota Couple Make Fourth Attempt To Enjoy Sake

ST. PAUL, MN – Determined to gain an appreciation for the fermented Japanese rice drink, Chris Gibson and girlfriend Valerie Estes made a fourth attempt to enjoy sake Saturday.

“Sake is really good stuff,” said Gibson, 29, following the couple’s most recent failed sake-appreciation attempt. “And it’s a cool thing to be able to say you’re into. I just don’t think our palates are refined enough to get everything out of it just yet.”

Gibson and Estes reached that conclusion after sipping a small amount of namakaze, or cold unpasteurized sake, at a dinner party thrown by mutual friend Roger Deroia, a self-professed “Japanophile” who spent 10 days in Tokyo last year.

“Chris and Valerie took a small drink, then sort of grimaced,” Deroia said. “Maybe they should just stick to White Zinfandel.”

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