Home » Recipes » What is Japanese Yuzu? A Yuzu co*cktail Recipe
Jump to Recipe
by Todd + Diane
This yuzu co*cktail recipe was one of our first recipe posts back in 2009. It’s fun to see how our photography and yuzu tree has changed over the years!
What is Yuzu?
Don’t feel bad if you have never heard of this beautiful little citrus, since outside of a few Asian cuisines and particularly in Japanese cultural circles it is seldom grown or used. We’re hereto tell you that yuzu is pure culinary gold. Yuzu is a citrus that isn’t eaten straight, but is used as a souring ingredient through the use of it’s juice and zest. It’s hugely popular to serve with seafood. Yuzu juice is prized for it’s ability to stay sour and fragrant when cooked at high temperatures.
What Does Yuzu Taste Like?
Yuzu is a sour, tart and very fragrant citrus, slightly smaller than a billiard ball. The flavor is reminicent somewhere between a classic Eureka lemon and an oro blanco grapefruit, but still has its own unique fragrance and flavor. It is a bit more floral and sour and utterly wonderful. It smells so good the Japanese will use yuzu for perfumes and will ritualistically bath in yuzu during Toji (winter solstice).The juice is fantastic in our yuzu co*cktail recipe. Read all about yuzu citrus on our yuzu info pagehere.
Yuzu co*cktail Recipe
Diane had requested yuzu recipe ideas from readers and there were several fantastic ideas, however I already knew how I wanted to use our first born yuzu. A co*cktail, of course. We kept the ingredients simple so the yuzu could be highlighted and not overwhelmed by the alcohol and since there isn’t muchjuice per yuzu, but the rind is so aromatic, we muddled a whole yuzu in order to get the most out of it.The result: pure deliciousness. There will be upcoming recipes featuring the yuzu, but for now we raise our glasses and toast to one of our favorite lumpy garden orbs: Yuzu! Hope you enjoy this yuzu co*cktail recipe.
Using Bottled Yuzu Juice
We’re very lucky to have a flouring yuzu tree, but we know this is very rare. So getting your hands on fresh yuzu is difficult but there’s always the option of using bottle yuzu juice. There’s plenty of options on the market and this is a great alternative so that you can cook and drink with yuzu all year long.
Learn More about Japanese Lemons: Yuzu & Kabosu:
- What is Yuzu? Why isYuzu so prized?What is Kabosu?differences between Kabosu and YuzuRefreshingYuzu Sherbert RecipeOur Sauteed Peas with Yuzu Kosho Recipe
Yuzu co*cktail
Yield: 1 co*cktail
Prep Time: 5 minutes mins
Total Time: 5 minutes mins
The yuzu is extraordinary in its fragrance and beautiful floral, bright citrus flavors. It is hard to substitute anything and have it come out the same. It will just be a different co*cktail. Potentially delicious, but still different. A fresh yuzu will usually be significantly more bright than the bottled juice.
For the gin, we prefer a gin like Hendricks or Tanqueray Rangpur for this co*cktail. There are quite a few Japanese gins which work quite well in this co*cktail too.
4.50 from 14 votes
PRINT RECIPE Review Pin It
Ingredients
- 1 whole Yuzu (or @ 1 1/2 Tablespoons (3/4 oz.) yuzu juice)
- 2 ounces (60ml) Gin (preferably Hendricks or similar)
- couple dashes Vanilla Extract , optional
- 1/2 ounce (15ml) Simple Syrup , or to taste
- dash of orange bitters , optional
- 2 ounces (60ml) club soda
Instructions
Squeeze the yuzu directly into the co*cktail shaker (helps capture the most oils from the zest). Add a 1/4 of the squeezed rind into the shaker. Add the gin, vanilla extract (optional), simple syrup, and optional bitters to the co*cktail shaker. Add ice & shake for 15-20 seconds.
Place ice into an old-fashion glass, strain the co*cktail over the ice, top with club soda, and gently stir. Garnish if desired.
Nutrition Information per Serving
Calories: 151kcal, Carbohydrates: 7g, Protein: 1g, Sodium: 13mg, Potassium: 2mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 50IU, Vitamin C: 19mg, Calcium: 23mg, Iron: 1mg
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: American, Japanese
Calories: 151
Check out our co*cktail Recipes Here
- our Complete Whiskey Guide.
- Holiday drinks and appetizers
- White Lady Classic co*cktail
- Kiwi Margarita
- Here’s more yuzu recipes to try.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Citrus co*cktails | Mocktails | Drinks Food Recipes
30 Comments / Leave a Comment »
Subscribe
30 comments on “What is Japanese Yuzu? A Yuzu co*cktail Recipe”
-
Katherine Rashell Gelat — December 7, 2023 @ 6:03 am Reply
It was a great drink. I used Hendricks Lunar in my drink.
-
Todd + Diane — December 7, 2023 @ 8:01 am Reply
Thanks! So glad you liked it.
Excited it is yuzu season again for us here. We love all the Hendricks line, but haven’t had a chance to try the Lunar yet. It may have to be our next gin grab!
-
-
Hennie — December 1, 2022 @ 3:31 pm Reply
Wow, what a great co*cktail. Absolutely refreshing.
-
Jan Makarewicz — December 26, 2020 @ 9:28 pm Reply
Hi guys,
Casual fan here. Made some of your chicken wing recipes way back when. Found this looking for good yuzu recipes. It was good. Three comments:
I used an ounce of Monin yuzu puree instead of your suggestions. It’s weird, but the easiest way to get yuzu is in puree form these days.
I skipped the vanilla extract. Never missed it.
The orange bitters didn’t add anything either. Subbed them out for grapefruit bitters to good results. But really the drink worked best with no bitters at all.
I forwarded a link to this recipe to a drink web site too. Don’t know if they’ll use it but it can’t hurt.
Good recipe overall. Nice flavor combo with gin. Keep up the good work.-
— December 27, 2020 @ 9:44 am Reply
Hi Jan, Thanks for reaching out and we appreciate your readership over the years. Also, thanks for all the great insight and for sharing!
-
-
Huckleberry — December 10, 2010 @ 6:40 am Reply
My favorite use of yuzu is with alcohol. The next would be as a salad dressing ingredient. However, one of the best uses not discussed on this page is in the bath. Sometimes Japanese onsen (hot spring resort type establishments) have special yuzu bath days. Also, yuzu ripen during cold season, and chucking some yuzu juice into a hot drink is often nice.
-
Annapet — November 15, 2010 @ 12:08 pm Reply
Hello, again! I am researching yuzu for the garden, and my search led me back to your site. Replies to comments are also useful. Thanks!
-
Diana — July 30, 2010 @ 12:11 pm Reply
Hello! I really like your yuzu picture (the second one shown in your blog) and would like to use it in a short Japanese food brochure for a fair. Would it be possible to use it?
-
Steve Carlson — March 22, 2010 @ 10:22 pm Reply
Any tricks for getting a yuzu tree to flower? I’m in the SF bay area, and bought a yuzu tree last year. The fruit that was already on it ripened beautifully. But the tree has been very quiet since, with no budding activity. Should it have already flowered this year? Anything I can do to make it wake up? I’d love some more of those yuzu.
-
Steve Carlson — June 5, 2010 @ 9:53 pm Reply
My yuzu tree is now full of tiny yuzu babies, and shooting up another 12″ of growth. Could be a great year for yuzu. I love my yuzu tree. Thanks for the inspiration.
-
White on Rice Couple — November 15, 2010 @ 2:24 pm Reply
We’ve had the same sort of problem. Lost of fruit one year, none the next. Going into our third year we are doubling up on a trick which a Japanese gardener taught us, to tightly tie some string around the branches to “choke” them a bit. It will cause a bit of stress on the plant and they will sometimes flower to put out some next of kin.
That plus we are fertilizing more this year, being that citrus in general really like being fed a lot.
Good luck.
-
-
CitrusinSC — December 21, 2009 @ 7:19 am Reply
I live in Orangeburg SC (named for the Duke of Orange, not the fruit) which is upper zone 8. I have two own-root Yuzu’s and one young, grafted onto trifoliate orange. I had more Yuzu’s this year than I knew what to do with. We make Yuzu cake, use the Yuzu’s in a vinaigrette, and I tried to make scallops in Yuzu, (Hotate Yuzu Kama-yaki) I had to follow lots of advice on how to make substitutes for mirin, but I found a Korean market in Columbia, SC that had white miso. My problem is the mixture was way too salty. The saltiness way overpowered the scallops. The fundamental problem was the miso, even diluted with mirin and sake. Any suggestions as to what’s the deal here?
-
White on Rice Couple — December 21, 2009 @ 10:55 am Reply
CitrusinSC-
That’s awesome you’ve got the yuzu overflowing! We’ve never had Hotate Yuzu Kama-yaki before so aren’t really sure what the taste is supposed to be or how salty a well prepared dish is. One thing about miso is that is does vary quite a bit between makers. We checked out the recipe at Bento.com and they are using red miso which is usually even a bit saltier than white, so it may just be a saltier dish. A couple people who are way more knowledgeable than us about Japanese cuisine would be Harris at Japanese Food Report and Eric at The Breakaway Cook.
Last night I was already craving some good Japanese cooking (spent the wee hours soaking in Japanese cookbooks) and now I am feeling like an addict going through withdrawals. Good luck on the scallops. If we discover any answers, we’ll make sure to pass them on.-
CitrusinSC — December 21, 2009 @ 11:49 am
I have some pictures of the Yuzu with fruit from a month or so ago, if you are interested.
-
-
-
Britton — November 19, 2009 @ 7:32 pm Reply
In the Pacific Northwest, One Green World (onegreenworld.com) also carries Yuzu trees for only $24.95/tree. The variety is Ichandrin. Best of all, they are advertised as hardy in the Pacific Northwest–all the way to zone 7.
-
White on Rice Couple — November 23, 2009 @ 12:56 pm Reply
Britton- thank you for the great info! One Green World and four wind growers sound like amazing nurseries.
-
