Sipwise

Japanese Cocktail

One of the oldest recorded cocktails: cognac stirred with orgeat and Angostura bitters, finished with a lemon twist. Sweet, nutty, and spirit-forward with no citrus juice in sight.

More drinks like this
Japanese Cocktail cocktail made with brandy, served in a coupe
Base
brandy
Glassware
Coupe
Flavor Profile
sweetstrong

Ingredients

  • 2 oz cognac
  • 0.5 oz orgeat
  • 2 dashes Angostura bitters
  • Lemon twist, to garnish

Instructions

  1. 1Combine cognac, orgeat, and Angostura bitters in a mixing glass with ice.
  2. 2Stir until well chilled, about 20 seconds.
  3. 3Strain into a chilled coupe.
  4. 4Express a lemon twist over the surface and use as garnish.

Origin & Story

New York, USA, 1862

The Japanese Cocktail appears in Jerry Thomas's 1862 Bar-Tender's Guide — one of the first cocktail books ever published — making it one of the oldest named cocktails on record. Despite the name, its connection to Japan is unclear; Thomas may have named it to evoke the exoticism of the East, which was fashionable in mid-19th-century America. Its formula is deceptively simple: cognac sweetened with almond-based orgeat and sharpened by Angostura bitters, stirred and served in a coupe with a lemon twist.