Nomidachi News Archive

July 2020



July 29

Hello, Nomidachi!


How are y'all keeping?

As you may have heard, due to Washington's updated restrictions on bars and taverns (and our lack of outdoor seating), we are temporarily unable to serve sake by the glass and flight at Saké Nomi, so we will be reverting to our retail only takeout/curbside pickup operations. As such, our hours of business, beginning today, will be:

Tuesday- Saturday: Noon- 6 pm
Sunday- Monday: CLOSED

Like everyone else, we're struggling along trying to get through this pandemic and pretty much making it up as we go. Recognizing just how much is out of our control is probably an important element in retaining some semblance of sanity, but it's difficult to take any comfort from that. June was our worst sales month since we opened 13 years ago, but here we are, still making a go of it at the end of July.

We are absolutely gutted that we can't chat with you over a glass at the shop for a bit, but please know that your kind support, encouragement, and valued friendship are all part of what fuels us to keep on keeping on.

Please order a bottle or two when you can (sake is ABSOLUTELY an essential survival tool, is it not?), and let your friends who appreciate good wine and craft beer know there's a whole other world of this amazing premium rice-based beverage for them to discover and we'll gladly assist you in guiding them through it.

Down below, we mention some special sake that will be arriving today or tomorrow and we'll be featuring through the weekend and into next week. If you don't know, now you know.

You're the best. Thanks for hanging in there with us. Be healthy, be safe, be kind, and please take good care of one another.

Arigatou & Kanpai!
Johnnie & Taiko
 


Featured Sake Selections


Kamoizumi "Summer Snow" Nama Nigori Ginjo (Hiroshima)                    Sweet fruit notes of white peach and pumpkin in the nose.  Rich flavor with hints of orange. Slightly chalky texture, yet super soft mouthfeel. Good balance of sweet and acidic flavor elements. A rare nama (unpasteurized) nigori ("cloudy"), it's kind of "hearty" -- a real sake drinker's nigori.
$36/500 ml bottle





Seiden Omachi "50" Junmai Daiginjo (Akita)
Brand new to Saké Nomi! Mellow greenish gold tint with refreshing, clean notes of cucumber, mint, mild melon, and even bubble gum in the nose. Tending toward sweet, with hints of mint and the tartness of young fruit, with a comfortable, soft, and refined mouthfeel. Classy. 
$50/720 ml bottle




Sohomare "Indigo" Junmai Ginjo (Tochigi)
Brand new to Saké Nomi! Pronounced golden hue, with a faintly earthy and herbal nose. Light, soft mouthfeel. Vaguely citrus and melony on the palate and just a touch tart around the edges. Probably "like butter" when warmed. This one is classy, elegant, and understated, and probably one of our recent faves. Produced at a brewery that specializes in the laborious, painstaking kimoto method of brewing. $45/720 ml bottle 

As an added attraction, this sake will be one of three that we carry that will be featured during a virtual tasting/brewery tour on Tuesday, August 4. For details and registration for this free event, please go to http://worldsake.com/events/

July 7

Hi There, Nomidachi!


This is just a short missive to alert you to a minor change in this week's schedule, and to mention a couple sake we are featuring on the current menu.

Though we are still settling into our "new normal" business hours (2-8 pm, Tuesday- Saturday), please note that we are CLOSED today, July 8.  Johnnie is taking a "personal day" to assess and contemplate just why Sammy (Van)Hagar is incapable of driving the prudent speed of 55 mph. 

We apologize for any confusion or inconvenience resulting from this schedule change, but we promise to make it up to you.

We hope you and yours are taking good care of one another, and we look forward to seeing you again as soon as we're able.

Arigatou & Kanpai!
Johnnie & Taiko
 


Featured Saké By the Glass, Flight, and Bottle (Retail, "to go")
In addition to some of the saké we began featuring last week (and listed below), we're pleased to add these next two:


KID Junmai Daiginjo (Wakayama)                                                  Golden, straw coloring with a gorgeous bouquet showing pineapple, mint, and strawberry. Soft, light mouthfeel and delicate on the palate. Very clean – here and gone in a quickly vanishing instant. Tiny orange/citrus, nearly bitter note in the finish.  
$100/1.8L bottle; $55/720 ml bottle






Tamagawa “Red Label” Junmai (Kyoto)                                           A muroka (non-charcoal filtered) nama genshu (undiluted, so 19-20% alcohol), brewed using ambient yeast found in the brewery's environs, “Red Label” is a big, complex, funky sake, with an earthy, mushroom aroma and a hint of smoke.  On the palate there is a brown sugary sweetness followed by a yamahai tanginess.  The finish is dry(ish), and a touch astringent. $36/720 ml bottle


And, in case you missed them, we've still got some of these beauties on hand:

Nanbu Bijin “Shinpaku” Junmai Daiginjo (Iwate)                            Slight golden coloring.  Vaguely herbal aroma, with a complex mix of mint, grassy, dry, and spicy elements.  Light, soft mouthfeel.  Semi-dry, clean, and delicate.  Brewed with the “king” of saké rice, Yamada Nishiki.  Platinum medal winner at prestigious French sake exhibition, Kura Master 2019.  $55/720 ml bottle








Mana 1751 “True Vision” Tokubetsu Junmai (Fukui)      
One of our favorite "newer" sake from the past year or so. Deep gold coloring, with notes of brown sugar, pumpkin, and smoke in the nose.  Light, soft, and delicate.  Dry finish with a touch of astringency.  Nicely balanced and elegant, with good acidity.  $45/720 ml bottle




Fuku Chitose “Toku” Yamahai Junmai
Ginjo (Fukui)                                               
Light yellow coloring and notes of white peach in the nose. Clean, mildly acidic, and displays a mellow sweetness that gradually moves to a dry finish. Solid and classy, just as the super cool bottle and label combination suggest.  A big seller last week, we're glad folks are discovering this gem. 
$40/720 ml bottle





Kaze no Mori “Wind of the Woods” Junmai Muroka Nama Genshu (Nara)       
Unfiltered, unpasteurized, and undiluted (17% ABV), the brewery's unique bottling process allows the sake to retain an uncommon liveliness and effervescence upon opening.  The flavors transform on the palate in intriguing and savory ways the more time you spend enjoying your glass.  Super refreshing during warm weather this is, admittedly, a pretty weird sake. In this case, weird is good! $34/720 ml bottle



KID Junmai (Wakayama)                                                                                Fairly rich golden tint, with notes of flour, yeast, bread, and cinnamon in the nose.  Super soft texture with a pleasantly mild bitterness & astringency (shibumi) in the finish.  The flavor reminds us of pie crust!  The KID brand was launched a little over 10 years ago by Heiwa Shuzo’s fourth generation kuramoto.  $35/720 ml bottle




UPDATE:
Arriving Friday (7/17) and
Still Accepting Orders:
Oze x Rosé Junmai Daiginjo

One of last year's most popular summer seasonal releases is soon to be back in our fridge, arriving next week, July 17. Our abbreviated notes look something like this:


Oze x Rosé Junmai Daiginjo (Gunma)
Rosé-like coloring due to red colored yeast.  Intriguing and delicious balance of tart and sweet flavors, and at just 12% alcohol (as an undiluted genshu, no less!), a very comfortable summer sipper.  It's one of the weirdest, most interesting, and delicious sake we have encountered in the last couple years. $60/720 ml bottle

If you'd like to reserve some bottles (last year, demand far outpaced supply), please get in touch ASAP, and we'll be glad to set some aside for you. 

 

July 20

Hello, Nomidachi!


This brief message is to alert you that, along with our "normal" fantastically delicious premium Japanese sake, beginning today, we are also featuring some very rare limited production summer seasonal releases that we mention below.

As always, if you have any questions about these or any of our other offerings, please contact us.

Thank you for your continued encouragement, support, and friendship. Please stay safe out there!

Arigatou & Kanpai!
Johnnie & Taiko
 


Rare Summer Seasonals Available Now


Shichida Junmai Ginjo Muroka Nama Genshu (Saga)                    Extremely limited seasonal release! With a fairly pronounced amber tint, it shows notes in the nose of white peaches and cantaloupe. Intensely lively (nearly effervescent) and flavorful, but with an elegant vivaciousness, acidity, and minerality.
$75/720 ml bottle








Oze x Rosé Junmai Daiginjo (Gunma)
Rosé-like coloring due to red colored yeast.  Intriguing and delicious balance of tart and sweet flavors, and at just 12% alcohol (as an undiluted genshu, no less!), a very comfortable summer sipper.  It's one of the weirdest, most interesting, and delicious sake we have encountered in the last couple years. $60/720 ml bottle

 

Social Media

To stay "in the know" regarding our many sake-related events and special tastings held throughout the year, please become a fan on Facebook or follow us on Twitter, Instagram.

Hours
Tuesday-Thursday: 2pm - 8pm
Friday-Saturday: 2pm - 10pm
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Contact
Email: info@sakenomi.us
Telephone: 206-682-1117
106 Cherry Street,
Seattle, WA 98104
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