Sake may be one of the oldest alcoholic beverages in the world, but in the United States, it's so right now.

Sake lists are arriving alongside wine lists at some restaurants. Saketinis are being mixed at some of the hippest bars. Some savvy customers are asking for sake by label now.

And U.S. sake makers like SakeOne are happily helping the market along — bringing an American twist to the traditional Japanese drink.

Sake is the rice-based beverage — similar to white wine in alcohol content and mouthfeel — that's common in Japanese culture. But Japanese sales of sake have been slumping for a number of years as consumers there turned to beer and other options.

Meanwhile, the U.S market has taken off — due in part to American-made sakes.

The key, SakeOne says, is to create a product with respect for its Japanese origin but an appeal to the American palate.

"Some purists were saying 'Oh my god, you have to be kidding me.' Now they are doing it," said Steve Boone, president of SakeOne.

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SMOOTHING IT OUT

Forget the hot, kerosene-tasting stuff typically found at the sushi spot. Good sake is also similar to wine in its complexity — with flavors of melon and finishes more likely to please than burn.

An American sake tends to be more full-bodied to handle our tastes than the austerity of a Japanese product. SakeOne has a recommended pairing for everything from pork chops to oysters. And the company was one of the first to introduce fruit-infused sakes, which would be considered sacrilegious to some sake traditionalists.

There are only a handful of American sake breweries and outside of SakeOne, all are based in California. Although most have ties to Japanese sake companies, an American product is distinctly different.

"We set out to make the best American sake," Boone said. "By design, we make our sakes different here."

Part of the difference is product. Sake is made from four ingredients: rice, water, yeast and an enzyme called koji.

SakeOne's rice is from California and the water is from the Oregon coastal range. The manufacturing plant is in the midst of Oregon's wine country and taps some of the same water sources.

But the process remains distinctly Japanese in some ways — the large manufacturing plant has a cedar-lined room where each grain of rice lies still to evenly absorb the water (they joke that it's the largest sauna in the state). And high-tech machinery to handle the yeast sits feet away from a traditional shrine.

"We're bound in some way to honor (the Japanese tradition) but we are also looking at sake that you and I can drink," Boone said.

Based on the range of guests in their tasting room — from young hipsters to retirees who've discovered an interest in sake — they've found the secret ingredient.

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BEGINNING WITH A GRAIN

The company was started with the help of Momokawa, a 200-year-old and respected sake maker in Japan. But the 15-year-old Oregon company is now owned by Americans, and works cooperatively with the Japanese sister company.

Boone said his Japanese partners, who help train and share ideas on sake, have seen reacted with more "amusement than resentment" to the occasionally unorthodox approach of their American friends who "tinker" with traditional sake-making methods.

The Japanese partners have also seen the financial benefits from that unique approach, including a branded line for Whole Foods.

SakeOne likens itself to the Oregon wine industry, which started with a few pioneers and is now producer of some world-renowned wines. Boone says the market is starting to see the same thing from SakeOne.

"Everyone thought it was crazy," he said. "But they are seeing some exciting things."

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asap contributor Sarah Skidmore is an Associated Press writer based in Oregon.

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