Amazake Rice Shake - Go Hazelnuts

Amazake & Sake Bottle, cir. Aug 2008

This was the epitome of impulse buys for me - it was expensive, and I already had everything I came to the store for, but something about that bottle just seemed to call to me... maybe it was the hazelnut flavor. Maybe it was the name Amazake. Maybe it was subliminal advertising. Whatever it was, I gave it a shot.

Down to the nitty-gritty: like any drink that touts itself as high energy, this has a whole lot of sugar in it. 31 grams in just one cup of this stuff. (One 12 oz can of coke has 39g). Wowza. That is this drink's Achilles Heel. But the ingredients are simple enough, I like that. There are only five: organic rice, hazelnuts, vanilla, hazelnut flavor, and a bit of xanthan gum for kicks. (Actually, it makes it thicker and shake-y).

And the taste? Oooh, this is so hazelnutty-good. After sip number two, I was hooked. It has a rich, smooth hazelnut and vanilla flavor that is a little too perfect. Just the right consistency, and surprisingly, it doesn't taste all that sweet, despite all the sugar. Speaking of which, where the hell is the sugar?! I had to look at the ingredients again to be sure, but no sweetener is listed - it's just rice, nuts, and flavoring...

I was about to panic, but then I realized that "Oh, hey, it says on the label it's 'Naturally Sweet from the Rice Itself'". Wow. You can tell, too, because it lacks the flavor of any of the usual sweeteners. This piqued my curiosity, so I went to consult the magical interwebs. It was then my privledge to learn all about the traditional Japanese beverage amazake, from which this drink gets its name. Amazake is a sweet, low-alcohol beverage in Japan that is reknowned as a health drink. They combine certain rice grains cause the carbohydrates to be broken down into simple sugars, and voila! Natural rice-sugar. Oh, those Japanese!

Rating: 4.5 out of 5, the .5 docked because of the high (albeit natural) sugar. You're in for a real treat, just don't drink the stuff like it was bottled water, allright?

- Danithius -

PS, just found the website: http://www.grainaissance.com/amazake.html