Notes from a Wandering Glass
After wandering Tokyo’s shimmering Ginza district—part fashion runway, part food shrine—I traveled back home to Rhode Island with a head full of inspiration and a bottle of shochu wrapped in my new Hello Kitty socks.
Shochu is one of Japan’s most beloved spirits, even more widely consumed there than sake. Unlike sake (which is brewed, like beer), shochu is distilled from sweet potato, barley or rice. It usually has a lower alcohol content than whiskey or vodka but carries way more personality. You’ll find it on Japanese drink menus poured over ice or mixed with lemon and sugar or tea.
In the Ginza cocktail, I pair shochu with sake (for softness), lemon (for snap), maple syrup (because I’m a New Englander) and a spoon of plum jam for a lush, fruity kiss. My addition of plum jam is a wink at umeboshi (a salted pickled plum) that has a long history in Japan, often stirred into shochu for a bracing, medicinal kick. I pivot to plum jam instead, borrowing that tradition but softening its edges; the jam brings a rounder, juicier fruit note with just enough acidity, trading sharpness for velvety depth. Fresh mint crests the glass like a flourish—and whether you’re in linen or lamé, it fits.
The Ginza
Ingredients
- 1 oz shochu (barley- or rice-based)
- 1 oz sake (Junmai Ginjo or your favorite light aromatic variety)
- ¾ oz fresh lemon juice
- ½ oz maple syrup
- 1 tsp plum jam, mashed to a pulp (or 1 tablespoon finely minced ripe fresh plum)
- Fresh mint sprig for garnish
Instructions
- Shake ingredients over ice in a bar tin for 10 seconds, double strain into a cocktail glass over ice.
