Last Updated on June 10, 2023 by Leah Hall
This Japanese whisky cocktail is full of flavor from the small batch Hatozaki!
Hatozaki Japanese blended whisky is very versatile and a great base for this spirit forward cocktail. This Japanese whisky cocktail is warming yet delicate with notes of strawberry and rice wine vinegar.
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What is Japanese Whisky?
As the name says, Japanese whisky is whisky made in Japan. The Japanese have been distilling their own whisky for close to two centuries.
The taste of Japanese whisky to us is similar to the taste of Scotch whisky. This seems not to be a coincidence since the Japanese set out to imitate Scotch.
With their unique and intriguing flavors, we love to create interesting cocktails with Japanese whisky.
Hatozaki Whiskey
Hatozaki Whisky is a product of Kaikyo Distillery, in Hyōgo Prefecture. It is owned by the Akashi Tai Sake brewery.
The Yonezawa Family has been brewing since 1856, but they did not start distilling until 1917. For celebrating 100 years of spirit production, they decided to replace their stills with new copper twin pot-stills.
The new facility has been designed to produce Japanese Single Malt Whisky as well as other spirits and has been named The Kaikyō Distillery after the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge that lies in front of the distillery.
What Ingredients are Needed for the Strawberry Samurai?
- Hatozaki Whisky
- Strawberry Syrup
- Rice Wine Vinegar
- Strega
- Cardamom Bitters
Vinegar in Cocktails
Vinegar is an indispensable kitchen liquid (at least in our house!) It adds brightness to salad dressings, is great in marinades, and breaks up richness in fatty dishes. It can also make a great cocktail.
Though drinking vinegar sounds like something you would not want to do, there are ways to use vinegar that makes a refreshing drink. Think of it as another type of acid you would drink, aka lime juice, orange juice. It opens up a whole world of options in your ingredients!
You can make a shrub as a cocktail base, or you can add some directly in the cocktail.
Strawberry Samurai Cocktail
As with any drink, when you add a strong ingredient, it requires some restraint! So, be careful how much you use generally, but we definitely like the flavor it adds in this one!
To balance the acidity from the rice wine vinegar, we added in some strawberry simple syrup, cardamom bitters for spice, and then Strega.
What is Strega?
What is it you ask? Strega is a liqueur, and has an in depth flavor with minty or piney tones. We thought it added so well to the Japanese whisky, and then the acid and sweet we had added before.
Strawberry Cocktail
We loved this drink, and felt it was a great early spring and summery cocktail, especially with making fresh strawberry syrup for this one. A great porch sipper in our opinion, we hope you give this Strawberry Samurai cocktail a try!
Cheers!
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Like this recipe? Try these below, too!
Other Japanese Whisky Cocktails
- Yuzu Whiskey Sour – Takes Two Eggs
- Blood Orange Whisky Negroni – Climbing Grier Mountain
- Chouyan Sour – Whiskey Advocate
- Harajuki – Bevvy
Strawberry Samurai Japanese Whisky Cocktail
This Hatozaki whisky is full of flavor, and we added it to strawberry syrup, rice wine vinegar, strega and cardmom bitters!
Ingredients
- 2 ounces Hatozaki Whisky
- 1 ounce strawberry syrup
- .50 ounce rice wine vinegar
- .25 ounce Strega
- 3 drops cardamom bitters
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients with in shaker with ice. Shake to combine.
- Strain into glass.
- Cheers!
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
1Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 161Sodium: 20mgCarbohydrates: 23.8g
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