Ginger Saketini

Melissa

By: Melissa

Updated: September 17, 2024

These ginger saketinis are made with traditional, dry sake paired with gin and lime juice, then topped off with fizzy ginger beer and a cucumber slice. They are crisp and refreshing, and are sure to become one of your favorite ginger cocktail recipes. Makes 2 cocktails. 

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What I love about this sake cocktail

If you haven’t had a sake cocktail before, you will love them. I order them every chance I get (which isn’t all that often) and I especially love sake cocktails with ginger beer. They pair really well together, as does the gin in this recipe.

I’ve had these a few times already and I’ve used both lemon and lime juice. Whatever you have on hand works just fine, but I preferred the lime. It was just so crisp and fresh. Either way, you’ll love them.

If you like this recipe, you have to try this Pimm’s cup, and this Eastside cocktail and this French blonde cocktail or even this cherry vodka sour.

Searching for more gin recipes? gin mojitos / gin basil smash / Clover Club cocktail / cherry negroni sour

a cocktail glaass filled with saketini and garnished

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Ingredients & substitutions

  • Sake – Opt for a dry sake for this recipe, since the ginger beer has enough sugar to balance the drink.
  • Gin – I love using gin for this sake cocktail, but you can substitute vodka if you don’t have any gin.
  • Ginger beer – Tops the cocktail off with some zesty ginger flavor and adds a delightful effervescence.

Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed below are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.

pouring a ginger sakitini into a coupe glass

The following is a detailed overview of the recipe steps with added tips and tricks for recipe success. For a simplified and printable version, including ingredient amounts and more formal instructions, see the recipe card below.

How‌ ‌to‌ ‌make‌ ‌a saketini

Shake the cocktail. Combine everything except for the ginger beer in a cocktail shaker with ice until it’s really, really cold.

Fill your glasses. Once it’s cold, divide the the mixture between two martini glasses and top each with ginger beer.

Garnish with cucumber. I used a mandolin to slice my cucumber super thin before weaving it onto the cocktail picks, but you can use a thin cucumber slice or just skip it all together.

saketini cocktail garnished with cucumber

Frequently asked questions

  • What‌ ‌is‌ ‌a‌ ‌saketini?‌ ‌The saketini is a martini that uses sake instead of the traditional vermouth used in a martini. There are often other ingredients added to pair with the sake, like the ginger beer in this recipe.
  • Can‌ ‌I‌ ‌make‌ ‌saketini‌ ‌with‌ ‌vodka?‌ ‌Yes‌ ‌you‌ ‌could.‌ ‌Many‌ ‌saketini‌ ‌recipes‌ ‌are‌ ‌made‌ ‌with‌ ‌vodka‌ ‌instead‌ ‌of‌ ‌gin. You can easily swap them out in this recipe. Although the floral notes of the‌ ‌gin‌ ‌pair really well with the sake.
  • Can‌ ‌you‌ ‌get‌ ‌drunk‌ ‌on‌ ‌sake?‌ ‌Sake‌ ‌is‌ ‌a‌ ‌low‌ ‌proof‌ ‌alcohol‌ ‌so‌ ‌it‌ ‌would‌ ‌take‌ ‌a‌ ‌large‌ ‌amount‌ ‌to‌ ‌make‌ ‌you‌ ‌drunk.‌ ‌Most‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌time‌ ‌it‌ ‌isn’t‌ ‌the‌ ‌sake‌ ‌that‌ ‌makes‌ ‌someone‌ ‌drunk‌ ‌but‌ ‌the‌ ‌other‌ ‌alcohol‌ ‌that‌ ‌is‌ ‌paired‌ ‌with‌ ‌it‌, like the gin in this saketini

Ginger Saketinis

5 from 1 vote
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings 2
These ginger saketinis are made with traditional, dry sake paired with gin and lime juice, then topped off with fizzy ginger beer and a cucumber slice. They are crisp and refreshing, and are sure to become one of your favorite ginger cocktail recipes. Makes 2 cocktails. 

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 ounces gin
  • 3 ounces sake
  • 1/2 ounce lime juice
  • 12 ounce Ginger beer
  • Cucumber slices - for garnish

Instructions

  • In a shaker with ice, combine the gin, sake and lime juice. Shake until very cold.
  • Pour into chosen glasses (over ice, if desired). Top with ginger beer and garnish with a cucumber slice.

Nutrition

Calories: 166kcal Carbohydrates: 18g Protein: 0.2g Fat: 0.01g Sodium: 13mg Fiber: 0.03g Sugar: 15g Vitamin C: 2mg