Japanese Cocktail
A Japanese Cocktail is 60ml of cognac, 15ml of orgeat and two dashes of Angostura bitters, stirred over ice for 20 to 30 seconds and strained into a chilled coupe, with lemon peel expressed over the top. About 2.5 UK units. Orgeat is made from almonds; keep this one away from anyone with a tree nut allergy. The recipe is Jerry Thomas’s. The Internet Archive’s scan of his 1862 How to Mix Drinks gives a table-spoonful of orgeat syrup, half a teaspoonful of Bogart’s bitters and a wine-glass of brandy, with one or two pieces of lemon peel. Punch, following David Wondrich, links the name to a member of the first Japanese diplomatic mission to America, which lodged near Thomas’s bar. Nothing Japanese goes in the glass. It is close to an Old Fashioned, with orgeat in place of sugar. That makes the orgeat the whole question: a good one tastes of almonds and has some weight; a thin one leaves sweet brandy.
Glassware: Coupe Glass
Garnish: Lemon peel expressed and rested on the rim
Ingredients
60ml
VS or VSOP at 40% ABV. Thomas wrote brandy; cognac is the usual choice now. A heavily oaked old cognac fights the almond.
15ml
Almond syrup with orange flower water. Pick one made from real almonds, which gives weight and a nutty dryness. A tree nut allergen.
2 dashes
Two dashes, where Thomas gave half a teaspoon of the bitters of his day. A third dash steadies a sweet orgeat.
Instructions
Chill a coupe.
Add the cognac, orgeat and Angostura bitters to a mixing glass.
Fill with ice and stir for 20 to 30 seconds.
Strain into the chilled coupe.
Express a strip of lemon peel over the surface and rest it on the rim.
Source: Jerry Thomas's Bar-Tender's Guide (Adapted from the 1862 Bar-Tender’s Guide: cognac for brandy, Angostura for the bitters of the day, measures in ml, peel expressed and rested on the rim; method ours). Last checked 9 October 2026.
Expert Tip
Everything depends on the orgeat. A real-almond orgeat is slightly cloudy, with weight and a trace of nutty dryness. Cheaper bottles are often sugar syrup with almond flavouring, and with three ingredients in the glass the gap is obvious at once. Stir for 20 to 30 seconds over plenty of cold, hard ice. There is no citrus to shake for, and the drink needs enough water to open the cognac without thinning it. If your orgeat runs sweet, add a third dash of Angostura before you change any measure.
Behind the Japanese Cocktail
Flavour Profile
The Origin
Punch says the Japanese Cocktail first appears in Jerry Thomas’s 1862 How to Mix Drinks. The Internet Archive’s scan gives his recipe: a table-spoonful of orgeat syrup, half a teaspoonful of Bogart’s bitters, a wine-glass of brandy and one or two pieces of lemon peel.
Punch, citing David Wondrich’s book on Thomas, suggests the name had something to do with visits to Thomas’s Broadway bar by a member of Japan’s first diplomatic mission to America, whose delegation lived nearby. The connection to Japan ends with the name.
Thomas Against Ours
The Japanese Cocktail in 1862, as the Internet Archive’s scan of How to Mix Drinks prints it, and as we make it
Spirit
- Thomas, 1862
- A wine-glass of brandy
- Ours
- 60ml cognac
Orgeat
- Thomas, 1862
- A tablespoon
- Ours
- 15ml
Bitters
- Thomas, 1862
- Half a teaspoon
- Ours
- Two dashes of Angostura
Lemon
- Thomas, 1862
- One or two pieces of peel
- Ours
- One strip, expressed and rested on the rim
| Element | Thomas, 1862 | Ours |
|---|---|---|
| Spirit | A wine-glass of brandy | 60ml cognac |
| Orgeat | A tablespoon | 15ml |
| Bitters | Half a teaspoon | Two dashes of Angostura |
| Lemon | One or two pieces of peel | One strip, expressed and rested on the rim |
A wine-glass in Thomas’s day is usually read as about two fluid ounces, close to our 60ml, and his tablespoon of orgeat is our 15ml. The proportions have hardly moved in more than 160 years.
The Structure
Spirit, sweetener, bitters: the shape of an Old Fashioned. The difference is the sweetener. Orgeat brings almond, body and a slight nutty dryness of its own, where sugar brings only sweetness.
At four parts cognac to one of orgeat the brandy leads, the almond rounds it, and the bitters keep it from tasting like dessert.
The Orgeat Question
Orgeat is where most versions go wrong. Made properly, it is almonds blended with water and sugar, often finished with orange flower water, and it is slightly cloudy and rich.
Many bottles are flavoured sugar syrup instead, and they make a thin, sweet drink. Look for almonds near the top of the ingredients, and we keep it in the fridge once opened.
Why It Is Stirred
There is no citrus, egg or cream here, so nothing needs the air a shaker adds. Stirring chills and dilutes the drink and keeps it clear.
Twenty to thirty seconds over cold, hard ice is enough. Less leaves it hot with alcohol; more turns three ingredients thin.
How to Serve It
In a chilled coupe, with lemon peel expressed over the surface and rested on the rim. The oil lifts the nose over the almond. Serve it after dinner.
Make it at home
The Spirit
CognacCognac is a grape spirit distilled twice from white wine in copper pot stills in the Cognac area of western France and, under INAO’s specification, aged at least two years in oak and sold at no less than 40% ABV. The letters on the label are minimum ages, by the BNIC’s account: VS at least two years, VSOP four, XO ten. A VS or VSOP is what our cocktails assume.
Master the Techniques
More to explore
Frequently Asked Questions
What is in a Japanese Cocktail?
Is there anything Japanese about it?
Does a Japanese Cocktail contain nuts?
Why does mine taste flat?
Should a Japanese Cocktail be shaken or stirred?
How strong is a Japanese Cocktail?
Sources.
Correct as of 19 October 2026.
- Internet Archive, “How to Mix Drinks, or The Bon-Vivant’s Companion (1862), scan” (primary source, read as text: 113. Japanese Cocktail, 1 table-spoonful of orgeat syrup, ½ teaspoonful of Bogart’s bitters, 1 wine-glass of brandy, 1 or 2 pieces of lemon peel; fill the tumbler one-third with ice and stir well).
- Punch, “Japanese Cocktail” (secondary source: first appears in Jerry Thomas’s 1862 How to Mix Drinks; Wondrich (Imbibe!) surmises a link with a member of Japan’s first diplomatic mission to America whose delegation lived near Thomas’s Broadway saloon).
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Where this one sits
Recipe by Jerry Can Spirits · Updated 19 October 2026