"Ken Blake" > wrote in message
...
> We have a new Japanese restaurant that recently opened near us.
> They serve something they call "box sake." Instead of the usual
> small decanter, they pour into a an open-topped wooden box, about
> three inches square, from which you then drink. The sake is
> supposedly enhanced by the taste of the wood.
>
> Has anyone ever seen this before?

Often in Japan. Rarely in the U.S.

> Did this place make this up, or
> is it common elsewhere and I just didn't know of it?

It is common in certain settings in Japan such as receptions or ceremonies .
.. . the "cup" will often be printed with information about the event. One I
hung onto was from when AEA opened their Tokyo office in the mid-1980s. I
have never these cups in general use in a neighborhood izakaya, for example.
Get a bit of a buzz on and they are tough to use unless you don't mind
spilling sake all over.