Chef Takumi
Awamori Mizuwari (泡盛水割り, awamori with water)
Awamori mizuwari is not a trick of the bar. It is three parts awamori, seven parts cold water, and enough patience to let the black-kōji aroma open.
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Roku Gin & Tonic (六ジントニック)
Created by
Six Japanese botanicals, cold tonic, one large piece of ice, and a yuzu peel expressed over the rim. The whole drink depends on proportion and temperature.
Beverages
Japanese
Dinner Party
Date Night
Outdoor Dining
5 min
Active Time
0 min cook•5 min total
Yield1 cocktail
Agin and tonic looks almost too simple to teach, which is why people spoil it. Too much ice melts fast. Warm tonic goes flat. A heavy hand with garnish turns the glass into a fruit bowl with ambitions. Keep it cold, keep it measured, and the drink becomes clear again.
Roku means six, and the gin is built around six wa-botanicals: sakura flower, sakura leaf, sencha, gyokuro, sansho, and yuzu. That is the point of using it. The tonic should lift those botanicals, not bury them under sugar or perfume. We use one large piece of ice because it chills the glass hard and melts slowly, giving the drink time to stay itself.
The deciding detail is the yuzu peel. Pinch it over the finished glass so the oils land on the surface, then set it in lightly or leave it on the rim. Citrus oil sits where your nose meets the drink, and that first breath is half the flavor. Nothing hidden. Just cold glass, clean bitterness, and a small bright edge of the season.
Roku Gin was launched by Suntory in 2017 as a Japanese craft gin, with its name taken from the six Japanese botanicals used alongside the traditional gin botanicals. The gin and tonic itself is a British colonial drink from the nineteenth century, but Japan's modern bar culture has long made imported forms precise through careful ice, measured dilution, and restrained garnish. In this version, the Japanese character comes from the Roku botanicals and from the highball-like attention to coldness, carbonation, and clarity.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
Suntory Roku gin
Quantity
50ml
well chilled
premium tonic water
Quantity
150ml
chilled
large clear ice cube or ice spear
Quantity
1
yuzu peel
Quantity
1 strip, about 5cm
cut with little white pith
sansho leaf or kinome (optional)
Quantity
1 small leaf
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Suntory Roku ginwell chilled | 50ml |
| premium tonic waterchilled | 150ml |
| large clear ice cube or ice spear | 1 |
| yuzu peelcut with little white pith | 1 strip, about 5cm |
| sansho leaf or kinome (optional) | 1 small leaf |
Equipment Needed
- •Tall highball glass, or a slim tumbler
- •Bar spoon, or a long clean chopstick
- •Peeler or small sharp knife
Instructions
- 1
Chill the glass
Set a tall glass in the freezer for a few minutes, or fill it with ice water while you prepare the garnish. Cold is not decoration here. A chilled glass keeps the tonic lively and slows the ice from melting before the drink reaches the table.
- 2
Prepare the yuzu
Cut a neat strip of yuzu peel with as little white pith as you can manage. The colored skin holds the fragrant oil; the pith brings bitterness without aroma, which is a poor bargain in such a clear drink.
- 3
Add ice and gin
Empty the glass if you used ice water, then set in one large clear cube or spear. Pour in the chilled Roku gin. One large piece of ice has less exposed surface than a fistful of small cubes, so it chills firmly without watering the drink too quickly.
If your freezer gives you cloudy ice, use the largest clean cube you have. The shape matters more than vanity. - 4
Pour the tonic
Tilt the glass slightly and pour the tonic down the inside wall, slowly. This keeps more carbonation in the glass. Use about three parts tonic to one part gin, then taste. Roku's yuzu and tea notes need space, but they shouldn't disappear.
- 5
Lift once
Give the drink one slow lift from bottom to top with a bar spoon or long chopstick. Don't stir it like soup. You only need to marry the gin and tonic while keeping the bubbles alive.
- 6
Express the peel
Hold the yuzu peel skin-side down over the glass and pinch it once so the oils mist across the surface. Rub the peel lightly on the rim, then set it against the ice or perch it on the edge. Add a single sansho leaf only if it is fresh and fragrant. Serve at once.
Chef Tips
- •Buy tonic you would drink by itself. In a two-ingredient drink, cheap tonic has nowhere to hide, and its sweetness will flatten the gin's tea and citrus notes.
- •Yuzu is winter citrus, at its best in the cold months. If you can't find it fresh, use a wide strip of lemon peel. Say plainly what it is: a sensible stand-in, not yuzu.
- •Keep the gin and tonic cold before mixing. Ice is there to chill and hold the drink, not to rescue warm bottles.
Advance Preparation
- •Chill the gin, tonic, and glasses at least 30 minutes before serving.
- •Cut yuzu peel strips up to 2 hours ahead and keep them covered in the refrigerator so the cut surface stays fresh.
- •Do not mix the drink ahead. Tonic loses its sparkle quickly, and this cocktail is only as good as its bubbles.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 280g)
Calories
170 calories
Total Fat
0 g
Saturated Fat
0 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
0 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
15 mg
Total Carbohydrates
12 g
Dietary Fiber
0 g
Sugars
12 g
Protein
0 g
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