Isn't warming sake ((or saki)) a way to cover the taste of the cheap, shitty stuff?
It is. Warming the sake covers up some of the impurities and reduces the bitterness. All of your better sake is served chilled, if not cold.
I thought sake was just traditionally served warm.
In the US it is, but that's because the majority of sake available here is pretty shitty.
She said she had one small cup, which is maybe equivilant to a can of light beer. And i'm smart enough to know what the placebo effect is, but dumb enough that it still affects me.
I have no idea why, but even a small cup of sake can knock me on my ass. I'm too lazy to google it but I believe the alcohol content of sake is higher than that of wine but nowhere near that of hard liquor.