Japanese Cocktail

Enormously, because it's the only thing standing between you and neat brandy. Most supermarket bottles are almond-flavored corn syrup and taste like it. Look for one made with real almonds and orange flower water, or make your own and use it within two weeks.

Nothing in it comes from Japan. The story usually told is that Jerry Thomas named it around the time Japan's first diplomatic mission to the United States passed through New York in 1860, not far from where he worked. Nobody has ever confirmed it.

A decent VSOP is the honest answer, since there's no citrus here to paper over rough edges. Armagnac works and turns it more rustic. Avoid anything sold as flavored or spiced brandy, which collides with the almond and takes the whole glass straight to marzipan.

Probably the bitters rather than the syrup. Two dashes of aromatic bitters are structural here, not decorative, and without them 15 ml of orgeat has nothing pushing back at it. Add them, and drop to 12 ml of orgeat if your particular bottle runs sweet.

A classic Japanese Cocktail calls for 60 ml (2 oz) Cognac, 15 ml (0.5 oz) Orgeat syrup, 2 dashes Angostura Angostura bitters. That single-serve spec scales cleanly — the recipe above converts it to oz and multiplies it for 2–4 drinks.

A standard Japanese Cocktail is roughly 32% ABV once mixed (before ice melt softens it further). That makes it spirit-forward — closer to a Martini than to a beer, so sip it slowly.

A Japanese Cocktail is shaken. About 13 seconds with plenty of ice chills and dilutes it correctly.