Brandy stirred down with almond-rich orgeat and a couple of dashes of aromatic bitters, it drinks round and nutty over a dry spirit spine. Expressed lemon oils brighten the nose and cut through the orgeat's softness, while the bitters add a faint spiced warmth that keeps the sweetness in check.
Garnish: Lemon Peel
Stirred · Coupe · Up
add
Combine the brandy, orgeat, and aromatic bitters in a mixing glass with ice.
stir
Stir until well chilled and properly diluted.
strain
Strain into a chilled coupe.
express
Express the oils from a piece of lemon peel over the surface.
garnish
Drop the lemon peel into the glass.
Jerry Thomas set the recipe down as No. 113 in his 1862 guide, How to Mix Drinks, and it is counted among the few drinks in that book thought to be his own invention. The name is reportedly a salute to Japan's first diplomatic mission to the United States. Building on orgeat rather than plain sugar made it one of the earliest cocktails to reach for a fancy sweetener, and Thomas took its bite from Boker's bitters, a cardamom-and-quassia blend that has since disappeared, so aromatic bitters fill in for it today.