3 Taru Sake Cocktail Recipes You Have To Try

Barrel aging spirits to evoke a distinct flavor profile has been a tried-and-true practice for hundreds of years. Many tequila and rum distilleries age their spirits in former bourbon casks to unlock various flavors, while whiskey distilleries tend to focus heavily on the types of wood used in their barrels — oak being a big favorite. So it should come as no surprise that sake breweries have their own tradition of storing sake in wooden casks. This type of sake is called “taru sake.” With its distinctive, forest-like aromas and flavors, taru sake is well worth enjoying by itself, but it can also be a unique cocktail ingredient.

Sake isn’t one of the big five spirits — vodka, gin, rum, tequila and whiskey — readily available at bars, so we don’t always think of sake as a base for cocktails. Rather, sake is typically served on its own, presenting its consumer with a sensory flavor experience developed by artisanal brewers over hundreds of years. However, with the growing popularity of craft cocktails, sake has become a more and more prominent ingredient in many bars’ signature cocktail lists. Some of The World’s 50 Best Bars like Katana Kitten and Double Chicken Please, which are heavily influenced by Asian-style bartending, feature sake cocktails on their award-winning menus.

So how can you use sake for cocktails at home? I’m going to provide you with three easy sake cocktail recipes with taru sake that anyone can follow. You can also take a look at Tippsy’s Complete Mixology Guide for more inspiration. And if you feel like you need a basic sake primer, take a look at our Sake Guide.

What is taru sake?

There’s a style of sake referred to as “taruzake” that’s been around for hundreds of years — we can trace this back to the 1600s! These breweries store their sake in wooden casks made from Japanese cedar or cypress and are called “taru,” hence the name. This usage of cedar or cypress barrels helps infuse the sake with a woody flavor many now refer to as the “scent of Japan.”

Initially, all sake was taru sake, because all vats and storage casks were made of wood. Today, most sake breweries use more modern ceramic-lined or stainless steel tanks, and sake is shipped in glass bottles instead of wooden casks. It’s actually quite rare to find breweries that still implement techniques that were utilized hundreds of years ago, so it’s important to highlight breweries like Kikumasamune Brewing Company and Choryo Brewing Company that, to this day, still famously offer sake in the old style.

Over the centuries, taru sake has become very popular for special events, like weddings and New Year’s — both ideal situations to drink a nice craft cocktail and celebrate!

How to craft a sake cocktail

So how do we design a cocktail around something already so meticulously crafted with ideal tasting notes and a distinctive flavor profile? As a bartender of over a decade, I’ve learned that the key to crafting unique cocktails is all about balance. Every ingredient in a drink should add something that is unique and complementary to the rest of the cocktail without ever overpowering the rest of the components.

When focusing on a single spirit as the core of a cocktail, it’s always best to utilize ingredients that elevate the key tasting notes that make up the central spirit. In this case, we’re going to highlight the core flavors of various taru sake while also adding complementary components that balance out the taste of the overall cocktail. Ingredients always need to serve a function in a drink; everything added should always come through when sipping on the final product.

So let’s design some cocktails!

Taru sake cocktail #1: Kikumasamune gimlet

Taru sake is traditionally drunk at weddings and other celebrations. My friend asked me to design a taru sake cocktail for her wedding, and my first thought was that wedding cocktails always need to be accessible to as many flavor profiles as possible. Typically, a couple’s signature drink is promoted to a large group of people who may all have varying palates. You’d typically want a cocktail that is light, crisp and refreshing, but also something that can be served at the beginning of the festivities for a cocktail hour, during dinner alongside various food dishes, and late into the night. A classic cocktail I always gravitate towards that can be appealing to the broadest range of guests is the gimlet.

The gimlet originated in the 1920s and became a popular drink for naval officials to prevent scurvy on their journeys. The original recipe is believed to be equal parts gin and lime cordial — a concoction of lime, water and sugar — the most famous brand being Rose’s Lime. However, as the cocktail has grown in popularity, its recipe has also evolved. One of the more recent evolutions of the gimlet is the new-wave drink called the French gimlet, which adds St-Germain (an elderflower liqueur) to the traditional recipe to add a floral element.

But what does this have to do with taru sake? Kikumasamune Brewing Company is one of the only sake brewers today to still make taru sake in house, and their signature Kikumasamune “Taru” is the perfect base for an elevated French gimlet. This particular sake is a dry and light junmai — meaning no added brewer’s alcohol — which is ideal for a flavor pairing with elderflower. And at 15% ABV, it is also the ideal base for a drink that guests can continue drinking long into a night of celebration and festivities.

Because Kikumasamune “Taru” has a lingering spice to its flavor profile, I want to highlight that by pairing it with a gin that will enhance its flavors. When looking for a gin to add to this cocktail, look for one that has a balance of citrus, floral and spice that will complement the taru sake without overpowering it. I’m a huge fan of Roku Gin, as the yuzu and floral botanicals will subtly highlight the distinctive tasting notes of the taru sake, while the St-Germain and lemon will balance the drink out with a sweet and sour finish.

You’ll want to use lemon over lime for this drink, as we’re going for a more refreshing citrus flavor instead of a tart citrus flavor. And to finish the whole thing off, add just a hint of simple syrup to keep it light and sweet. The best simple syrup is equal parts sugar to hot water, mixed together until the sugar is melted into a clear liquid and cooled.

Ingredients

• 1 ounce Kikumasamune “Taru”
• 0.75 ounce St-Germain
• 0.5 ounce Roku Gin
• 0.5 ounce simple syrup
• 0.75 ounce fresh lemon juice
• Lemon wheel for garnish

Directions

Add the Kikumasamune “Taru”, St-Germain, gin, simple syrup and fresh lemon juice to a shaker tin with ice. Always make sure to use fresh lemon or lime juices when making cocktails — you’ll be able to seriously taste the difference in quality! Shake for about 15 seconds. Strain into a chilled coupe glass. Serve up with a fresh lemon wheel. The taru sake will have a nice, peppery cedar flavor at the center of the drink, while still being light and floral — ideal for guests with varying palates without ever feeling too sweet or too strong.

Unlike a traditional gimlet, this Kikumasamune gimlet places a taru sake at the center of the drink, while utilizing gin as an accent flavor. This therefore creates a lovely, lower-ABV cocktail.

Taru sake cocktail #2: Choryo boulevardier

Perhaps you’re looking for something a bit more traditional, a bit stronger — something to sip on as New Year’s approaches in the dead of winter. For this, I’ll once again turn towards a classic cocktail as our base: the boulevardier.

Like the gimlet, the boulevardier has been around since the 1920s, originating, as many famous classic cocktails did, in Paris. However, it remained a fairly obscure derivation of the beloved Negroni until the turn of the century, when the craft cocktail scene boomed in New York during Dale DeGroff’s work at The Rainbow Room and Sasha Petraske’s reign at Milk & Honey. It has now become a frequently ordered cocktail that almost every bar in the world is equipped to make. Combining equal parts whiskey (either bourbon or rye) with sweet vermouth and Campari (a classic bitter Italian liqueur), the boulevardier makes for a perfect aperitif drink with dinner.

For this spin on a boulevardier we use a “futsushu” (table sake) from Choryo Brewing Company. Choryo “Yoshinosugi no Taru Sake” has been gracing tables since 1964 and gets its name from a sustainable forest in Nara, from which they source their cedar barrels. This particular cedar is lauded for its astringency, which actually helps create this taru sake’s clarity and rich balance of flavor, which hasn’t been changed since its inception.

This futsushu is quite light and sweet, thus making it a perfect sake to replace the sweet vermouth in a boulevardier (or even a traditional Negroni). This sake’s notes of cedar and black pepper will subtly complement the whiskey, while the citrus flavors of the Campari will elevate the lemon notes of the sake.

The boulevardier is all about balance of flavor. No ingredient should overpower another; all should be equally present and equally represented. For this particular spin on a boulevardier, I think pairing a rye whiskey — something like Knob Creek’s Single Barrel Select Rye — would work better than a bourbon. The softness of the taru sake will even out some of the bite of the rye and the bitterness of the Campari, while using bourbon in this variation would give you a slightly sweeter and less complex dichotomy of taste. However, if you do want a slightly sweeter version of this cocktail, I would opt for a bourbon like the Four Roses Small Batch. Though at the end of the day, it’s really up to the person drinking the cocktail how they’d prefer their drink! So feel free to mix and match your whiskeys when making this one.

Ingredients

• 1 ounce Choryo “Yoshinosugi no Taru Sake”
• 1 ounce rye whiskey (or bourbon)
• 1 ounce Campari
• Orange and/or lemon twist for garnish

Directions

Add the Choryo “Yoshinosugi no Taru Sake,” rye whiskey and Campari to a mixing glass with ice. Stir with a bar spoon for 15-20 seconds. Strain into a rocks glass over ice. Garnish with an orange or lemon twist — or both! The garnish here is simply to pull forward those citrus notes in both the sake and the Campari. In my opinion, the best type of cocktail garnish doesn’t just make it more aesthetically pleasing, but elevates the sensory experience of the drink.

Taru sake cocktail #3: Ichinokura lychee martini

Perhaps you’re looking for something a little more sweet and overall less boozy; something that’s perfect for an anniversary or a milestone birthday. For this last cocktail, we’re going to design a drink that uses taru sake as the base, and none of the big five will be used. However, let’s pull in a more rich and dry sake to balance out such a sweet drink.

Ichinokura brewery was founded in 1973 as a merger of four older sake breweries. Since its inception, Ichinokura has become one of the most innovative microbreweries in Japan, while also placing a heavy focus on returning to the more traditional ways of brewing sake by hand. Ichinokura “Tokubetsu Junmai” Taru is a beautiful representation of the brewery’s love of crafting sake in the old ways. This cedar taru sake is a multi-award-winning sake that evokes flavors of smoke and spice amidst its creamy aroma. And these more distinct flavor notes make it the perfect center taste for a non-traditional martini.

The martini is one of the most popular cocktails ever invented, and while the martini we know of today dates back to the early 1920s, the term was first used in the late 1800s. A traditional martini is crafted based on varying ratios of gin to dry vermouth, depending on the drinker’s particular preferences. As the years went on, the traditional martini evolved to include recipes that utilized vodka over gin, and even added olive juice into the mix, thus creating the dirty martini. In today’s cocktail scene, you’ll come across a lot of menus that feature cocktails called martinis that actually aren’t martinis at all! The infamous espresso martini, appletini, French martini and even the pornstar martini are all wonderful drinks, but technically not martinis due to the various ingredients — primarily juices and sugars — that have been added to them.

So we’re crafting a sake-based lychee martini derived from the specs of a new-school dirty martini, in an attempt to create a “non-martini” that still upholds some traditional elements. What would normally be made of vodka, olive juice and dry vermouth will be transformed into something much more light, fruity and sake-centric. If you like this one, explore more saketini recipes.

To start, we’ll remove vodka (or gin) entirely from the equation and use Ichinokura’s taru sake as our base. Next, let’s replace olive juice with lychee juice to make the drink less savory and much more sweet. (The best shelf-stable lychee juice can be strained from a can of lychees.) Finally, instead of dry vermouth, let’s balance the drink out with UME Plum Liqueur. This adds a nice lavender hue to the martini, and replaces the grapes of the vermouth with the fruitiness of the plum.

This lychee martini starts off fruity and sweet before expanding into a smoky finish with a note of baking spice. The taru sake will be the flavor that lingers on your tongue, while the lychee and plum will soften each sip!

Interested in ume-flavored drinks? Check out Tippsy’s “umeshu,” or plum wines.

Ingredients

• 2 ounces Ichinokura “Tokubetsu Junmai” Taru
• 1 ounce lychee juice
• 0.5 ounce UME Plum Liqueur
• Lychee for garnish

Directions

Add the Ichinokura taru sake, lychee juice and UME Plum Liqueur to a mixing glass with ice. Stir with a bar spoon for about 15-20 seconds. Pour into a chilled Nic ‘n’ Nora or traditional martini glass, served up, and garnish with a full lychee skewered onto a cocktail pick. This simple, three-ingredient drink is quite easy to make, but packs a punch of fun flavors while reimagining the dirty martini.

Try your own creations

Taru sake is amazingly versatile. It can be the central ingredient of a cocktail or a bold, complementary flavor. It can work in very light cocktails, very sweet cocktails, or very bitter ones. Now you have three very different sake cocktails to work with when hosting your next special event — or even if you just want to celebrate yourself at home.

And these recipes are only the beginning! While sake is traditionally meant to be enjoyed by itself, it doesn’t have to be. As the craft cocktail world grows, so do the possibilities of ingredients. Taru sake, with its rich history and signature woody aroma, is a perfect addition to your home bar.

Need some help choosing the best sake for you? Take Tippsy’s sake quiz to get personal recommendations from a sommelier, or check out the Sake Guide lesson “Best Bottles & Brands for Beginners.”

Resources

Choryo Shuzo Co., Ltd.
https://www.choryo.jp/en/sake/

Gauntner, J. “​​Sake brewing process.” Sake World.
https://sake-world.com/about-sake/how-sake-is-made/sake-brewing-process/

Huen, B. “The Glamorous History Of The Martini.” Food Republic, 2023.
https://www.foodrepublic.com/1353392/martini-cocktail-origins-history/

ICHINOKURA Co., Ltd.
https://ichinokura.co.jp/en

Kiku-Masamune Sake Brewing Co., Ltd. “Product List.”
https://www.kikumasamune.com/product.html

Simonson, R. “Sasha Petraske, 42, Dies; Bar Owner Restored Luster to Cocktail Culture.” The New York Times, 2015.
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/22/nyregion/sasha-petraske-bar-owner-who-revived-luster-to-cocktail-culture-around-the-world-dies-at-42.html

Stein, J.D. “This Is the Story of the Rainbow Room.” Punch, 2022.
https://punchdrink.com/articles/story-rainbow-room-nyc/