Japanese Slipper
Shake ∙ 3 min ∙ 13.8% ABV ∙
The Japanese Slipper is an equal-parts shaken sour of triple sec, green melon liqueur, and fresh lemon juice, served up in a martini glass.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Shake all ingredients with ice: Triple sec 30 mlGreen melon liqueur 30 mlLemon juice 30 ml
- Fine strain into the chilled glass
- Garnish with a maraschino cherry dropped into the cocktail
Tips
- Two of the three equal parts are liqueurs, so shake hard for a full 10–15 seconds; without enough melt it drinks heavy and sweet.
- Squeeze the lemon fresh; at 30 ml, a full third of the drink, it's the only thing standing up to two sweet liqueurs.
History
The Japanese Slipper was created in 1984 by French-born bartender Jean-Paul Bourguignon at Mietta's Restaurant in Melbourne, Australia. According to the story behind the drink, a Suntory sales representative gave Bourguignon a bottle of the newly launched Midori melon liqueur, and he mixed it with Cointreau and lemon juice to offset its sweetness, producing the vivid green cocktail.
The drink spread across Australia as Bourguignon continued to promote it while working elsewhere in the industry, becoming an emblem of Melbourne's flashy 1980s cocktail scene. Despite its name, the drink has no origin in Japan; the "Japanese" refers to Midori's origin as a Japanese liqueur, while accounts trace "Slipper" to a word Bourguignon came across while reading in English at the time.
FAQ
What is in a Japanese Slipper cocktail?
Equal parts triple sec, green melon liqueur, and fresh lemon juice, 30 ml of each.
How do you make a Japanese Slipper cocktail?
Pre-chill a martini glass, then shake the triple sec, green melon liqueur, and lemon juice hard with ice for a full 10–15 seconds. Fine-strain into the chilled glass and drop in a maraschino cherry.
Is a Japanese Slipper shaken or stirred?
Shaken. The lemon juice needs a hard shake to chill and aerate, and the two sweet liqueurs need the extra melt; stirred, it drinks flat and heavy.
What does a Japanese Slipper taste like?
Sweet and fruity, led by candy-like melon liqueur, with the lemon cutting through the sweetness. It drinks more like a dessert-style sour than a spirit-forward cocktail.
Is the Japanese Slipper a strong drink?
No. It is two liqueurs and lemon juice with no full pour of base spirit, so it drinks like a fruity sour, not a boozy cocktail.
What is the alcohol content of a Japanese Slipper?
About 13.8% ABV as served, once shaken with ice and diluted.
