
These cocktails/mocktails are built around a surprise ingredient. It’s a traditional Japanese taste that’s becoming all the rage at modern Tokyo bars: fruit-infused vinegar. These apple-ginger sours are sophisticated and satisfying, with or without the alcohol.
For one cocktail:
1/4 c. (60 ml) Apple-Ginger Sour Mixer (recipe below)
1/4 c. (60 ml) still or sparkling water
1/2 shot vodka or sho-chu (optional)*
Fresh mint leaves, for garnish
Stir together, serve over ice.
For a pitcher of cocktails
Makes 8 c.(1.8 l)
4 c. (940 ml) Mixer (recipe below)
4 c. (940 ml) water, sparkling or still
4 shots vodka or shō-chū (optional)*
Fresh mint leaves, for garnish
Stir together, serve over ice.
*You can add more alcohol to make these drinks as strong as you like, but I mix them a little weak because they go down so easy, people always come back for more!
Apple-Ginger Sour Mixer
Makes 2.25 cups (587 ml)
1 c. (235 ml) apple cider vinegar or Apple-Infused Red Wine Vinegar (recipe below)
1 c. (235 ml) apple juice (I use the lowlife kind—you know, the kind that comes in kids’ juice boxes—rather than the cloudier, unfiltered kind, because I like the drinks to be sparkly and clear, but please use whichever you prefer)
1/4 c. (117 ml) Ginger Simple Syrup (easy recipe below, or you can buy it ready-made)
Ginger Simple Syrup

Makes 1 cup (235 ml)
1 c. (170 g) sugar
1 c. (235 ml) water
1 large knob of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced thin


Stir the sugar and water together in a small saucepan over medium heat. When sugar has all dissolved, stir in ginger coins. Cover and bring to a light boil.

Turn the heat down slightly and simmer for fifteen minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for an hour with ginger still in the syrup. Strain out the ginger and store in a tightly covered jar in the refrigerator. Ginger Simple Syrup can last in the refrigerator for a month.
Apple-Infused Red Wine Vinegar

Quick cooked version:
Makes 1 cup (235 ml)
2 c. (470 ml) red wine vinegar
4 T. (135 g) sugar
2 apples, not peeled, but cored and grated**
Stir all together in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cover and bring to a boil, watching that it doesn’t get too hot and boil over. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for five minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Strain out apple pieces, pressing liquid from pulp.
Slower refrigerator version (takes one week):
Makes 1 cup (235 ml)
1 c. (470 ml) red wine vinegar
2 T. (135 g) sugar
Peel from six apples, chopped fine
Mix all ingredients together in a jar and cover tightly. Put in refrigerator for at least a week. Strain before using, pressing liquid from peel.

**The smaller you chop the apple, the more flavor it will add. I use a food processor for this, but don’t go too far and end up with a puree, because it’s hard to strain out afterwards and will make your drinks cloudy instead of sparkling clear.
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Jonelle Patrick writes mystery novels set in Tokyo, and blogs at Only In Japan and The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had
The apple ginger sour mix looks like it would be useful in a lot of preparations!
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I’d love to hear of other things you could do with it! I’m always trying to find ways to make Japanese flavors appealing to Westerners, and if you end up doing something wonderful, I’d be delighted to hear about it ^_^
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I just posted about fermented apple cider, after which WordPress then decided to send me a suggestion for your post! Infused vinegars are coming back into trend in some places and I am giddy with excitement about it. I hope to see more from you!
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Hi from your newest follower! I’m so glad you were pointed to my vinegar post—I super enjoyed reading about how you’re fermenting your own, because that’s got to be my next experiment! There’s an amazing vinegar cafe I used to go to in Tokyo that made drinks fermented from all kinds of fruits and herbs, and I am so missing those delicious sours. Love your blog!
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Thank you! Following you now too! I can’t believe there was a vinegar cafe in Tokyo! I would live there inside the cafe if I could! I love Japan. How is it you love fermented things and Japan? Maybe that’s not as strange as I thought, but it’s so cool we share that. Nihon ga daisukidesu!
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ええ? Sasuga! I lived there for years, and before this accursed pandemic, was spending about 4-5 months there every year, doing research for my books (and, of course, franting about with friends & discovering new blog fodder). What about you? How did you get in deep enough to know it’s が not は? (笑)
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That is super great! I bet you are so cultured! And the fact you write books is great.
I want to visit there one day. My sensei, my Japanese teacher always taught us Japanese sentence structure with a lot of presicion. I pretty much love all things Japan. Their attention to detail in the fine arts and homemaking (cooking, tidiness, etc) is something special, and I love their ideas about family and honor and work.
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You TOTALLY have to go to Japan when it opens up again! You would love it so much, and you would get to see so much more than most first-time visitors because you can actually talk to people and they would invite you to come see stuff they’d be too shy to mention to people who don’t speak Japanese ^_^ Also, if you’d like to be inspired by some vinegar flavors beyond apple, here’s the old post on my main blog that lists a few of the fab flavors offered at the vinegar cafe! https://jonellepatrick.me/2011/10/10/the-vinegar-cafe/
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