The saketini is a
cocktail
A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink. Most commonly, cocktails are either a combination of spirits, or one or more spirits mixed with other ingredients such as tonic water, fruit juice, flavored syrup, or cream. Cocktails vary widely across ...
that uses
sake as its base, along with other ingredients such as
simple syrups, distilled spirits, liqueurs, juices and garnishes. The name saketini is a
portmanteau of "sake" and "
martini", a cocktail traditionally made from
gin
Gin () is a distilled alcoholic drink that derives its flavour from juniper berries (''Juniperus communis'').
Gin originated as a medicinal liquor made by monks and alchemists across Europe, particularly in southern Italy, Flanders and the Ne ...
and
vermouth.
It is not a true
martini, but is one of many
drinks that incorporate the term ''martini'' into their names.
History
The 2015 work "The Cocktail Detective" attributes the drink's invention to the chef Matsuda, in Queens during the
1964 World's Fair
The 1964–1965 New York World's Fair was a world's fair that held over 140 pavilions and 110 restaurants, representing 80 nations (hosted by 37), 24 US states, and over 45 corporations with the goal and the final result of building exhibits or ...
, and only later reviving it in the 1990s.
Preceding the resurgence in popularity of the martini in the early 2000s, people began using sake as a mixer in cocktails, simultaneous with a larger broadening of the term "martini" to include a wide variety of cocktails. Some cocktail purists feel the saketini is an insult to the integrity of the classic gin-vermouth cocktail. Others, such as mixologist Lucy Brennan,
Lovely Saketinis
Imbibe Magazine approve of the saketini and have adapted and concocted many sake-based cocktail recipes. Hiroaki Aoki, the founder of Benihana restaurants, says in the 2003 book ''Sake: Water From Heaven'': "if a cocktail made with sake is pleasing to the palate, why should tradition stand in the way of progress?"
See also
* Sake Bomb
* Tamagozake
References
{{reflist
Further reading
* Griffith Frost and John Gauntner ''Sake Pure and Simple'' p. 110 reference to sake cocktails
* Rocky Aoki with Pierre A. Lehu ''Sake Water From Heaven'' p. 108 sake cocktail recipes and statement
External links
Seattle Weekly- Saketini? Sock it to Me
Seattle Weekly
Saketini Restaurant L.A.
LA.com
Washington Post
Cocktails with sake