Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association | JSS
While Seattle is home to a variety of different landmarks and famous locations, you might be surprised at how much of a Japanese influence there is in the Emerald City. This wonderful city is home to several locations for cherry blossom viewings in the spring, multiple shops and restaurants offering Japanese goods, and much more. Many of said shops can be found in Seattle’s Japantown, which is located in the city’s International District along with its Chinatown and Little Saigon.
Since there is plenty of Japanese culture flowing through Seattle, several local shops offer a decent selection of sake as well.
The following list includes popular restaurants, wine, liquor stores, and other similar locations that sell various types of sake by the bottle. These shops are listed in alphabetical order.
Downtown Spirits is a locally owned and operated store that focuses on selling wine, spirits, beer, and other alcoholic beverages. After its founding in 2012, this store has continued to expand its selection over the years and has offered on-demand delivery of its products since 2014. Although the store boasts a wide variety of local craft beers, French and Italian wines, and distilled spirits from around the world, Downtown Spirits also has a moderate assortment of sake as well.
The majority of Downtown Spirit’s catalog of alcoholic beverages is also available online. Several listings of sake on their catalog include a picture of the bottle and a description of tasting notes. Some also offer trivia and history about the brewery that made the sake in question.
Although Downtown Spirits is a physical location, the company also prides itself on its on-demand delivery system. This system brings delicious beverages to local customers the same day they were ordered. The company also offers a “CO-OP” membership that gives members free deliveries, discounts on items, and access to special releases.
Downtown Spirits
2300 7th Ave
Seattle, WA 98121
(206) 812-6591
Hannyatou is a sake bar located in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle that offers a wide variety of alcoholic drinks and food. The name ‘Hannyatou’ makes reference to an ancient Buddhist term for sake meaning ‘wisdom water’. The owners of the restaurant make its passion for the process of fermentation clear by offering plenty of types of sake and Japanese beer. Furthermore, Hannyatou also makes all of the miso, pickles, vinegar, and tamari used in their food in-house.
Although they are considered a sake bar, Hannyatou also sells bottles of sake for pick-up and local delivery on their online shop. This catalog contains nearly fifty different kinds of sake that are divided into distinct sections. These sections include namazake, honjozo and junmai, ginjo and junmai ginjo, daiginjo and junmai daiginjo, kimoto, and yamahai as well as nigori and dessert sake.
Hannyatou also offers a “Nama Club” subscription that provides members with up to three bottles of namazake. Each bottle is carefully sourced by Hannyatou and includes seasonal productions to give customers the freshest and highest quality namazake possible.
Hannyatou
1060 North 39th St.
Seattle, WA 98103
(206) 294-4104
Maruta Shoten is an Asian grocery market that has been in operation since 1993 and offers a plethora of different kinds of Asian groceries and household items. The store also makes a sizable amount of Chinese and Japanese food like fried chicken, gyoza dumplings, sushi platters, and bento boxes. The store also posts special deals on their long list of products approximately every two weeks. Of course, Maruta Shoten also sells a modest assortment of sake as well.
Their shelf of sake is lined with an impressive variety of bottles that come in various shapes, sizes, and colors. Many of these bottles also have labels that include information like recommended serving temperature, level of sweetness, tasting notes, and some information on its production.
Maruta Shoten
1024 South Bailey St.
Seattle, WA 98108
(206) 767-5002
Sake Nomi is a specialty sake bar that offers a wide range of Japanese sake for patrons to enjoy. This unique shop has a menu that rotates weekly and pulls from well over 200 different brands in their collection. Furthermore, Sake Nomi has a wonderfully calm and relaxed environment that is perfect for enjoying a cup of sake with friends.
Aside from its rather impressive collection of sake, Sake Nomi also has staff that is extremely knowledgeable about sake. In fact, one of their main goals that the owners have was to create a place to provide those in Seattle with quality sake and knowledge regarding the beverage. As such, many people from newcomers to the finest connoisseurs flock to their doors in order to share their knowledge and passion.
Sake Nomi’s website also offers basic information regarding grades of sake, the sake brewing process, and more. Those wishing to learn more can also take a look at their “Nomidachi” newsletter, which lists information about special events and new arrivals that are available for purchase.
Sake Nomi
106 Cherry Street
Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 682-1117
Total Wine & More is an alcoholic beverage retailer that can be found in many locations in the United States. Although the chain got its start in Delaware in 1991, Total Wine & More has grown to well over 200 stores across the nation. Like their name might suggest, Total Wine & More has an incredible selection of wine, though they do offer plenty of other kinds of alcoholic beverages, sake included.
Total Wine & More’s catalog is also available to view on their website. The website has dozens of different sake to choose from and each listing includes a picture of the bottle the sake comes in and a short description of the sake itself. Other information such as price, brand, production region, size, and availability is also shown in each listing. Due to their large size, Total Wine & More can also ship both inside and outside of Seattle (as long as there is no law preventing it in one’s state).
Total Wine & More
525 NE Northgate Way #5
Seattle, WA 98125
(206) 365-0572
Seattle is one of the few cities in the United States that has had a strong Japanese influence for multiple decades and this influence is still present to this day. This, of course, is no less true when it comes to the amount of sake that is available in the Emerald City. As shown above, there are many different locations from renowned restaurants and Asian grocers, to popular bars that have plenty of sake to enjoy.
Furthermore, several of these locations offer local delivery, making it even easier to get your hands on delicious, high-quality sake without leaving home. With so many different options to choose from, even the pickiest of sake experts are sure to find something they like.
Explore more sake on the US west coast with Sake Shops in San Francisco!
