How to Use Sake in Cocktails

Whether you're a total novice when it comes to enjoying Japan's national drink or well-versed in the nuances between Junmai and Ginjo sake (and if you need a refresher, here's our handy sake guide), it's always worth having a bottle on hand for cocktails. With flavors that can range from earthy to saline to floral, sake is one of our favorite drink ingredients, especially when used to balance higher-ABV spirits like gin, as is the case in this beautifully garnished Sakura Martini from Manhattan's Bar Goto and Brooklyn's Bar Goto Niban, as well as sweet, acidic pineapple juice, which you'll need to make a crowd-pleasing batch of Pineapple-Sake Sangria Punch.

If you're unsure of where to find the best sake, try one of the many U.S brewers that have caught the proverbial sake bug, like Brooklyn Kura. "Its top sakes can go head to head with good Japanese bottles," writes executive wine editor Ray Isle. "Brooklyn Kura brewer Brandon Doughan also gets to break more rules than Japanese sake makers do. For example, he recently released a sake co-fermented with Chardonnay in collaboration with Brooklyn's Hound's Tree winery."

Here's how to make five of our favorite sake cocktails.