Okinawa Bloom Recipe

Chill glass

Place a coupe or chilled cocktail glass in the freezer or fill it with ice water while you prepare the drink to ensure serving temperature is cold.

Measure the Okinawa gin, Mancino Sakura vermouth, Yamagata Masamune 1898 sake, simple syrup, and fresh lemon juice into a mixing glass or cocktail shaker.

Add 3 dashes of sakura & sansho bitters to the mixing glass.

Add large ice cubes to the mixing glass (enough to fill ~2/3 of the glass).

Stir the mixture gently for 20–30 seconds with a bar spoon until properly chilled and slightly diluted. Stirring (rather than shaking) keeps the texture silky and integrates the delicate sake and vermouth without over-aerating.

Taste quickly on the spoon: you want a balanced profile — herbal and floral gin forward, sweet-savoury lift from the sakura vermouth and sake, a whisper of citrus from the lemon, and the floral-spicy bitters rounding the finish. If too dry, add another 1/8 oz (0.125 oz) simple syrup; if too sweet, add a few drops more lemon juice.

Discard the ice or water from your chilled glass. Strain the cocktail into the coupe (or a chilled old-fashioned glass over one large ice cube if preferred). Use a fine strainer if you used crushed ice when stirring or want a cleaner presentation.

Express a strip of lemon peel over the drink by holding it skin-side down and twisting to release oils; run the peel around the rim and drop into the glass (if using sansho leaf, gently slap it once between your palms to release aroma and rest it atop the drink).

Garnish with one fresh or pickled sakura blossom floated on the surface or speared on a pick. If using a sansho leaf, place it on the surface or rest it on the rim for a fragrant accent.

Serve immediately. The ideal tasting experience is cool, slightly viscous from a touch of sake, floral and herbaceous from the gin and vermouth, and finished with a delicate sakura-sansho spice.