Matcha · With alcohol
Rikyu Sour
A gin sour with the tea whisked in properly. Named for the man who made restraint a status symbol.
GlassChilled coupe.
- 50 mldry gin
- 25 mlfresh lemon juice
- 20 mlhoney syrup (see Sourcing and syrups)
- 2 gculinary grade matcha, about one bar spoon
- 20 mlwarm water, for the matcha
- 20 mlaquafaba or one egg white, optional, for foam
MethodWhisk the matcha into the warm water first until no lumps remain. This step is not optional. Matcha added dry to a shaker turns to clumps. Add everything, dry shake without ice if using foam, then shake hard with ice and double strain.
GarnishA light dusting of matcha through a fine sieve, over one half of the foam only.
Cost estimate[VERIFY: booklet page 18 prices matcha per gram but not the gin, lemon or honey syrup, so a full drink cost cannot be computed from source material]
What to expect in the glass
Botanical, grassy and drier than the word sour suggests. Gin and matcha share vegetal territory, so juniper and tea reinforce each other instead of arguing. Honey bridges them.
Matcha brings tannin and umami together, which lengthens the finish and gives the drink a savory tail. The foam is textural, not decorative: it softens the tannin on the first sip. Dust only half of it, so the guest chooses between the drink and the tea. Rikyu would have found the whole exercise absurd, but he would have approved of the restraint in the garnish.
Balance note
Printed as written. One real technical caution.
Chlorophyll degrades in acid. Twenty five ml of lemon against 2 g of matcha pulls the color from jade toward olive within minutes of shaking, and the photograph shows the first thirty seconds, not the fifth minute. No ratio fixes this. Technique does: build fast, serve immediately, never batch.
The 50 to 25 to 20 ratio is otherwise sound sour territory. If anything 2 g of matcha is assertive against 50 ml of gin; try 1.5 g first if yours is strong.
Simon's note after tasting
Aroma: fresh green tea and juniper, with lemon zest and a soft honeyed sweetness behind it.
Palate: dry, botanical and layered. Matcha gives a grassy, faintly savory depth that sits under the gin rather than on top of it, and the honey keeps the lemon from taking over.
Finish: long and green, with lingering tannin, citrus peel and clean bitterness.
Overall the most serious drink in the book: dry, adult and quietly complex. Not one to batch, or to leave standing.