Japanese Slipper

More than anything else in the glass. Cointreau at 40 percent keeps the drink dry and gives the lemon room to work. A 20 percent triple sec brings the same orange flavor plus a lot more sugar, and against melon liqueur that tips the whole thing into syrup.

No. It's a short drink of 90 ml before dilution, and ice in the glass turns it thin within minutes. Chill the coupe in the freezer while you work, and it stays cold for the ten minutes it takes to finish. If you want a long version, add soda and use a tall glass.

Shaking whips air into the drink and lightens it, and lemon juice pulls the green toward yellow. Both are normal. If you want the postcard color, strain through a fine mesh to knock the foam back and use a liqueur that hasn't been sitting open in the light for a year.

Take the melon liqueur down to 22 ml and leave the other two where they are. That keeps the shape of the drink and pulls out the sugar that causes the trouble. Going the other way, adding lemon, just makes it sour and sweet at the same time rather than drier.

A classic Japanese Slipper calls for 30 ml (1 oz) Melon liqueur, 30 ml (1 oz) Triple sec / Cointreau, 30 ml (1 oz) Fresh lemon juice. That single-serve spec scales cleanly — the recipe above converts it to oz and multiplies it for 2–4 drinks.

A standard Japanese Slipper is roughly 19% ABV once mixed (before ice melt softens it further). That makes it about as strong as a glass of wine.

A Japanese Slipper is shaken — the rule of thumb is to shake anything with citrus juice. About 13 seconds with plenty of ice chills and dilutes it correctly.