Sakura Martini Recipe
A sake-led Martini with a measure of gin and a whisper of maraschino, garnished with a salted cherry blossom that slowly seasons the drink.
- Category: Popular
- Glass: Coupe glass
- ABV: 20%
- Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
- Sake75 ml (2.5 oz)
- Gin30 ml (1 oz)
- Maraschino liqueur0.25 tsp
How to Make It
- Rinse the salted cherry blossom briefly in water and set it aside.
- Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice.
- Stir until well chilled and diluted.
- Strain into a chilled coupe and drop the blossom in.
Garnish
Salted cherry blossom
What it tastes like
It carries a floral top note.
The technique
Stirring. All-spirit drinks are stirred — shaking whips air into them and ruins both the clarity and the texture. Thirty to forty seconds in a mixing glass, the spoon tracing the wall. You are after the same ~20% dilution, just slower and under control.
Glass and ice
A stemmed, shallow coupe. The stem keeps your hand's warmth away from the drink, and the wide bowl carries the aroma to your nose. Served without ice.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Gin
- London dry gin: juniper up front, citrus and coriander behind it. Brand really does show here — Beefeater is sharp, Hendrick's floral, Tanqueray juniper-heavy.
- Maraschino liqueur
- A clear liqueur made from marasca cherries. It has nothing to do with the red jarred cocktail cherry — it smells of almond kernel and flowers, and it is dry, not sweet.
The Story
The signature drink of Kenta Goto's Bar Goto in New York, built as a Japanese answer to the Martini.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Sakura Martini mixed?
- It is stirred and served in a coupe.
- How strong is a Sakura Martini?
- Roughly 20% ABV as served — in fortified-wine territory — plan it as a single drink.
- Can a Sakura Martini be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a Sakura Martini hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.