CLASSIC COCKTAIL · 1850–1889
Japanese Cocktail
Cognac softened with almond orgeat and a dash of bitters: a nutty, silky nineteenth-century classic.
1860Historical classicResearched
Jerry Thomas is believed to have created and named the Japanese Cocktail in 1860 to mark the first Japanese diplomatic mission to the United States. The delegates stayed at New York’s Metropolitan Hotel, a block from Thomas’s bar at 622 Broadway. He published the recipe — cognac, orgeat, bitters and lemon peel — in his 1862 Bar-Tender’s Guide; despite the name, it contains no Japanese ingredients.
THE RECIPENutty, silky and spirit-forward
Ingredients
- Cognac60 ml
- Orgeat15 ml
- Angostura bitters2 dashes
- Lemon peelto garnish
Method
Shake the cognac, orgeat and bitters with ice until well chilled. Strain into a chilled coupe and express a lemon peel over the surface.
Coupe · no ice · lemon peel