Caviar Tasting | Seattle, WA

Last night, in celebration of finishing 2L finals, a classmate and I ventured out in Eastlake, Seattle for a caviar tasting. She had heard of the deal they offer at the Seattle Caviar Company, for $25 you get a glass of champagne, a tasting of 6 different caviars, as well as an amuse bouche or two.

tasting sheet

Our first taste was the Golden Whitefish Roe, the cheapest they have to offer. Salty, fishy, but with a nice pop to it, it wasn’t bad at all for my very first taste of caviar. The colour is a vibrant orange/yellow jewel-like colour, and would make a beautiful garnish on canapes.

Ikura Caviar

Next was the Ikura, a much larger sized chum salmon roe with a heavier fish flavour. We were later served this caviar on a crostini with avocado, which complimented the caviar nicely.

The Paddlefish was our next tasting, which was much more subtle in flavour and very creamy on the palate. I would definitely splurge on this at some point to make homemade blinis with some creme fraiche and chives.

Paddlefish Caviar

After that, I believe it was the Idaho White Sturgeon, my favourite of the bunch. The texture was a lovely balance between the crunchy pop but with a creaminess to it as well. The flavour began a bit briny, but finished with a heavy note of toasted almonds, which was very unexpected. Unfortunately, at $75/oz, I don’t think I’ll be picking up a tin of it for myself anytime soon. Looks like I’ll need that fancy lawyer job after all to support my own habits.

The next one on the list was meant to be a California White Sturgeon, but based on a lack of availability, turned out to actually be a Canadian White Sturgeon. It was sort of opposite to the Idaho, in the sense that it started out heavier on the brine and finished with a lighter, milder nutty note. Very creamy as well, and another one I’d opt for if I had the money.

Last was the Israeli Osetra, the most expensive caviar they offer in their tasting range at $135/oz. Cleaner in texture, with a fruity and nutty flavour to it, the Osetra was a nice finish to the tasting. I’d still prefer the Idaho personally, but I tend to favour those things which produce a totally unexpected but enjoyable taste experience.

Blini

We finished our visit to the Seattle Caviar Company with a second amuse bouche, the classic blini with a dollop of caviar and creme fraiche.

As far as an affordable activity in Seattle, and something totally new to experience, I’d recommend the caviar tasting at Seattle Caviar Company. It happens every Thursday night from 5:00-7:00 pm, and they don’t take reservations so it’s on a first come, first served basis. However, we arrived at around 5:30 and there was only one person there aside from us, so we had no problem being served. The woman who dealt with us was very knowledgeable, and was able to explain exactly where and how each type of caviar was cultivated. She was also great at providing pairing recommendations for each type of caviar.

The Seattle Caviar Company, 2922 Eastlake Avenue Seattle, WA 98102 http://caviar.com/