Japanese Slipper
Shake ∙ 3 min ∙ 16.7% 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. Silky and bright with a crisp citrus snap, this pale-green pour finishes clean and tart, the cherry adding a soft, sweet last note.
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
- Shake hard for a full 10-15 seconds — the equal-parts build needs real dilution or it drinks syrupy.
- Fine-strain into a pre-chilled glass; the melon liqueur can carry tiny particulates that cloud the pour.
- Use fresh lemon juice, not bottled — bottled juice reads flat against the melon liqueur's sweetness.
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, shaken with ice and fine-strained into a martini glass with a maraschino cherry dropped in.
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. Fine-strain into the chilled glass and drop in a maraschino cherry to finish.
Is a Japanese Slipper shaken or stirred?
Shaken. The lemon juice needs the aeration and quick chill of a hard shake; stirring would leave it flat and under-diluted for a citrus-forward drink like this.
What does a Japanese Slipper taste like?
It tastes sweet and fruity, led by candy-like melon liqueur, with fresh lemon juice cutting the sweetness with tartness. At 16.7% ABV it drinks lighter and softer than a spirit-forward cocktail, closer in weight to a dessert-style sour.
Is the Japanese Slipper a strong drink?
No, it is relatively light at about 16.7% ABV, since it is built from two liqueurs and lemon juice rather than a full pour of base spirit. It drinks more like a fruity sour than a boozy cocktail.
What is the alcohol content of a Japanese Slipper?
A Japanese Slipper is about 16.7% ABV as served, once shaken with ice and diluted. That puts it well below spirit-forward cocktails, in line with other liqueur-based sours.
