Thank you both Adam and Intuit for your thoughtful positions that you've both eloquently put forth here. While I don't have the pure science background of Intuit I do catch his drift, and that said, I do stand by what I make. Ceramics is not an exact science as there is a lot of "Intuit"ion involved in the art/craft. Does one go for the aesthetics one has in mind ie. a courser, earthier body which can be prone to weeping due to it's nature, or go to a tighter body with less "character". The trick is to find a balance one might say.
If we're dicussing sake here, we all have our preferences and I prefer 冷酒 reishu, or cold sake. I drink reishu exclusively now and have for many years as while heating sake make it easier for the body to absorb, and may make for a more olifactory stimulating experience, subtle nuances in flavor tend to be evaporated/masked in the heating process. Just my opinion...... however traditionally, poorer grades of sake were heated for this very reason, while more refined varieties were enjoyed at room tempreture or chilled..... or so it is said.
As an aside, one can make a fairly good nihonshu (Nigori, which is a raw, relatively unfiltered active culture variety) at home with a minimum of expense or equipment, which I have been doing of late. While sake yeast is available, I have found yeasts such as Blanc du Blanc or Champagne yeast make quite a dry yet pleasing brew with a good degree of subtlety. Of course the degree of refinement of your rice, water quality, and aging will all influence your final result. For those interested in persuing this, please refer to the following link.
http://www.taylor-madeak.org/index.php
For information on sake in general, I found this rather informative.
http://web-japan.org/nipponia/nipponia44/en/
酒チヤットがあると良いんですが。。。。。。。
If only there were a Sakechat.........
カンッパイ
Kanpai!
R