Abigail: It was a little weird going to dark, cozy Saké World (aka Saké Nomi) on a spectacularly glorious Seattle summer afternoon. But we were tough and persevered.
Nik: At least the saké was chilled!
Abigail: Right? I was grateful to be distracted from my usual declassé preference for warm saké (They had a diatribe against hot saké hanging on the wall). And not just because that preference is embarrassing but also because really, the chilled saké was very refreshing.
Lizzie: In your defense, Johnnie did say that there are certain types of saké that are acceptable when warmed, but only to a place somewhere between body temperature and lukewarm...and only in the winter months or during foul weather.
Abigail: You’re right. I did find that very comforting.
Nik: We started by selecting the saké flights from the Kikizake Menu, which Lizzie informs us means “Tasting Menu.” There were two different flights containing three 2-oz pours. Lizzie and Abigail shared a pair of flights, and I had a pair of flights for myself, because I am a lush, and because girl cooties.
Abigail: I totally would *not* have minded having all 6 sakés in our flight to myself, even though I did not begrudge Lizzie sharing them. Lizzie was also the one who told us that Saké Nomi means Saké Drinking. So that opened the question: Were their Saké Nomi cups custom branded or a generic type of cup?
Lizzie: You two make me sound like I either speak Japanese fluently or that I am some kind of saké expert! I just spent a few minutes searching for the cups in question, and did not see them. I did see a lot of saké cups have the target design in the bottom. I wonder what the background is?
Nik: I’m reading that the reason for the bullseye pattern on the bottom is to make it easier to determine the color (against the white) and cloudiness (against the blue) of the saké.
Abigail: Whoa, that makes total sense. The tasting notes talked about the color, but I didn’t look closely at all. I was so eager to start tasting since there were six to taste! We all started with a saké called Chrysanthemum Water, which we loved. I instantly declared it to be my favorite saké to date. That tended to be my reaction to several of the sakés we tasted. In the end, Chrysanthemum Water was still a contender for my favorite. Did you have a favorite?
Nik: I really enjoyed them all. I think my favorite was the Kuboto Senju, which was only a ginjo. But Chrysanthemum Water would be a close second. I was really amazed at the different flavor profiles from each of them.
EPILOGUE
We brought a little Junmai saké and a Sake Today magazine to Derrick Tan, who wasn't able to make it at the last minute.
READ UP ON IT
(Including an explanation for the title of this post. Saké Nomi was very generous with its educational materials.)