The Cocktail Spirit with Robert HessJapanese
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It's hard for me to understand how the Japanese cocktail has slid into obscurity. While you might find it listed in some of the modern cocktail books, you'll be hard pressed to find one that uses the original recipe from Jerry Thomas' "Bar Tenders Guide" published in 1887. Properly made this drink has the sweet almond flavor of the orgeat balanced against the brandy and the bitters to present a very enticing drink.
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Recipe
The Japanese Cocktail
- 2 oz brandy
- 1/2 oz orgeat syrup
- 2 dashes bitters
Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail glass
Garnish with a lemon twist
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Comments
Every time I have a Japanese cocktail I have to wonder why this drink isn’t more common. One of the great things I like about it for the home mixologist, is that it doesn’t require you to have to have any fresh lemons or limes on hand, and yet it isn’t as “boozy” as a Martini or Manhattan.
I just tried this with grapefruit bitters and this cocktail really sung.
“snug”... I assume that’s a good thing :->
More popular in Japan? Real Japanese drinks are Sake and Awamori
mmmm just made one… great cocktail!
One question: What is the shelf life of orgeat syrup? Or any other similar flavored syrup? Is it ok to keep it on the shelf? I`ve got Monin orgeat and it says it requires no refrigeration, but it doesn`t say how long can it last after being opened?
When it “goes bad”, it will be due to obvious bits of mold growing inside of the bottle. The sugar content in the syrup itself will help keep it self stable, many syrups have enough so you don’t need to worry. I keep my syrups on the shelf, but I also often take the safeguard of adding a shot of high-proof vodka to them as well, since the alcohol will also help keep it shelf-stable.
Robert, I’m a big fan of your work and admire your wisdom, but I have to say that I completely desagree with you when you declare: ” One of the great things I like about it for the home mixologist, is that it doesn’t require you to have to have any fresh lemons or limes on hand”. On the contrary, I love my Japanese’s with a good and generous lemon twist, spraying all the esential oils on the surface of the drink before rubbing and dropping it. So, if I don’t have a fresh lemon at home, I prefere to switch to another cocktail, because in my opinion a Japanese without a proper lemon twist it’s somehow a miserable experience… Kind regards!
Are you mispronouncing orgeat? I’ve always heard it pronounced OR-zhot except by Stephen Phillips on his “Great Cocktails” show (he says OR-gee-aht).
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/orgeat
Orgeat is one of those words that for the longest time I only saw in print, and always struggled with how to pronounce it properly, then when I did find pronouciation guides for it, I often found several different ones. or-ZHAY, ôr′-zhat′, OHR-ZHA, it appears to have several variations, and I hear folks who I would respect their opinions of say it a variety of different ways (note: “Great Cocktails” is not one of those :->)