I’m loyal to beer over all other adult beverages, but I realize that man cannot live on beer alone. I also make time for saké. The best place to find saké in Seattle is at Saké Nomi ^[1], a Pioneer Square store and tasting bar owned and operated by the husband and wife team of Johnnie and Taiko Stroud. Nomi is a great place for both the seasoned saké enthusiast and the curious newcomer. There are free tastes from the weekly bottle-pour menu, warm saké for the cold weather and shelves of bottles ranging from the “I can afford to take home two of these” to the “you’ve gotta be kidding me” price ranges. Maybe the best things about Saké Nomi are the welcoming personalities of Johnnie and Taiko. Whether you want to learn about saké, take a few bottles home or just hang out and have a few drinks, you’ll feel comfortable there.

If you haven’t checked out Saké Nomi yet, now’s a great time. Here are some things they have coming up:

• New Saké Unveiling – on Saturday, February 2nd, from 12-8pm, 10 imported saké new to Washington will be available by the glass. Several of these are from some of Japan’s oldest and most prestigious breweries. It’s a good opportunity to try some new stuff before shelling out for an entire bottle.
• Sushi Suiyobi (aka Sushi Wednesday) – due to customer demand for sushi, Johnnie and Taiko have partnered with J Sushi in the ID to try out a Wednesday sushi night on a trial basis. The deal is you order one of three sushi sets (two have different varieties of fish and one is vegetarian) by calling Nomi no later than noon on Wednesday. The sushi is delivered by 6-6:30 that night and then you chow down and pair some saké with your meal. The sushi sets run from $20 for the veggie to $25-30 for the fish. The first go round on this will be tomorrow, January 30th.