Ginza Mary Recipe: The Bloody Mary with Sake

Ingredients

1 oz vodkae.g. Absolut · Smirnoff · Grey Goose · Ketel One · Belvedere
1 oz sake a dry junmai works beste.g. Gekkeikan · Dassai · Hakutsuru · Ozeki
2 oz tomato juice
½ oz lemon juice
3 dash Tabasco
2 dash soy sauce
pinch of black pepper

Garnish: Lemon wheel and black pepper · Ice: Ice cubes

Method

Add vodka, sake, tomato juice, lemon juice, Tabasco and soy sauce to a mixing glass with ice.
Stir gently for about 15 seconds, or roll the mix between two tins so the tomato juice does not turn foamy.
Strain into a highball glass filled with fresh ice.
Finish with a pinch of freshly ground black pepper and a lemon wheel.

Watch it made

Ginza Mary

Taste

Savory and bright, with tomato, lemon and a gentle chili heat over a soft rice note from the sake. Lighter and less boozy than a classic Bloody Mary.

History and origin

The Ginza Mary is a variation on the Bloody Mary, and its name points to Ginza, the upscale shopping and nightlife district in central Tokyo. Who first mixed it and when is not documented, so it is best understood as one of the many regional twists on the tomato cocktail rather than a drink with a fixed birth date.

What makes it distinctive is the Japanese pantry it borrows from: sake shares the base with vodka and softens the drink, while soy sauce brings the salty, fermented depth that Worcestershire sauce provides in the original. It sits in the same savory family as the Bloody Maria with tequila and the Red Snapper with gin.

Bartender tips

Go easy with the soy sauce: two dashes season the drink, more makes it taste salty rather than savory.
A dry, clean sake suits the drink better than sweet or aged styles.
Chill the tomato juice beforehand so the drink needs less stirring and stays thick.

Variations

Bloody Mary: The original: all vodka, with Worcestershire sauce instead of soy sauce and often a pinch of celery salt.
Wasabi twist: Easy twist: stir a tiny amount of wasabi into the lemon juice before mixing for a sharp, nasal heat.