Ingredients:

• 3-5 English cucumber ribbons
• 1 pinch salt
• 3/4 oz lemon juice
• 3/4 oz lime juice
• 4 oz Thousand Cranes Sake
• 1.25 oz lemongrass simple syrup
• 1 egg white
• 5-6 dashes of aromatic bitters

lemongrass simple syrup:

• 3-5 crushed lemongrass stalks
• 1 C water
• 1 C sugar
• Bring water and lemongrass to a boil
• Remove from heat
• Steep for a minimum of 2 hours (preferably overnight). Combine lemongrass tea with sugar and return to heat to melt sugar.
• Store in an airtight container with a freshly crushed lemongrass stalk.

Preparation:

• Muddle cucumber with salt and citrus juices.
• Add remaining ingredients and reverse dry shake.
• Double strain into a coupe glass where the oils of both lemon and lime have been expressed and along the outer rim and edge/side of the glass beforehand.
• Spread the dashes of aromatic bitters using a toothpick
• Garnish with a cucumber ribbon.

By: Brenna Sullivan

Ingredients:

• 3 oz Thousand Cranes Sake
• 2 oz White Vermouth Mix
• Lemon Rind

White vermouth mix:

• 2 parts extra dry vermouth (Recommend: Gonzalez Byass extra dry or Dos Deus extra dry)
• 1 part sweet white vermouth (Recommend: Dos Deus White)
• 1/2 part Lilet Blanc

Preparation

• Chill glass
• Combine ingredients in a mixing glass with ice
• stir
• Remove ice from glass and strain into Nick &  Nora glass/coupe
• Important: Express the oils from the lemon rind over the glass, wipe the rim with the rind, and put in or over the glass
• Serve

By: Alex Thaley

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 oz Apple Cider
• 2 oz A Thousand Cranes Sake
• 1 oz Cinna-Simple Syrup
• .75 oz Ruby Port 

Cinna Simple Syrup:

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups water
• Heat in a pot until dissolved
• Add 4 cinnamon sticks and allow to cool
• Take out cinnamon sticks 24 hours later
• Store in an airtight container.

PREPARATION:

• Combine ingredients in a rock glass and stir
• Garnish with a dehydrated apple
• Add ice to create a lighter, fruitier flavor, or leave it straight up to allow more cinnamon notes to surface.

By: Angela Guillory

Ingredients:

• 2.5 oz. A Thousand Cranes Sake
• 1.5 oz. Grapefruit Juice
• 2 oz. Grapefruit Rosemary Ginger Syrup

Grapefruit Rosemary Ginger Syrup:

• 3 grapefruit slices
• 4 sprigs of rosemary
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped ginger
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water

1. Combine all in a saucepan
2. Heat to just boiling
3. Remove from heat and let steep for 30 minutes
   
   

 Preparation:

• Add all ingredients to a shaker
• Strain into ice-filled glass.
• Garnish with rosemary and grapefruit wheel
• Serve in a chilled coupe or ma
  

Ingredients: 

• 2oz A Thousand Cranes Sake
• 1oz Empress Gin
• .75oz Aperol
• .5oz Giffard Ginger
• .5oz Lemon
• .5oz Ocean Spray Grapefruit
• 1 dash Ms. Better’s Foaming Bitters

Preparation:

• Shake mixture
• Pour into a Collins glass with ice
• Garnish with a big basil leaf.

By: Darren Houston from The Pantry

INGREDIENTS:

• 2oz A Thousand Cranes sake
• .5 Toki Japanese Whiskey
• .33 oz fresh lemon juice
• .25 Allspice Dram
• .25 Liquor 43
• .25 Simple Syrup
• 1 dash Angostura Bitters

Preparation: 

• Combine ingredients into a mixing glass
• Stir with ice for approximately 20 revolutions
• Strain into a short rocks glass
• Add 2-3 1" cubes
• Garnish with a dehydrated lemon wheel studded with three whole cloves.

By: Alexandria Bryan

Ingredients

• 2 oz A Thousand Cranes
• 1 oz Jasmine-Hop Syrup*
• 1 oz lemon juice
• 2-3 chilled soda water

Preparation:

• Add sake, syrup, and lemon to a Collins glass
• Add chilled soda water
• Top with Ice
• Garnish with zest

Ingredients

• 3oz A Thousand Cranes sake
• 0.5oz fresh lime juice
• 0.5oz simple syrup

Preparation

• Shake with ice
• Strain over an ice-filled rocks glass
• Garnish with an orange zest

Ingredients 

• 2oz A Thousand Cranes sake
• .5oz Chartreuse Green
• .5oz Averna
• 1 bar spoon honey syrup (2:1 grade A raw honey to water)
• 2 dashes of bitters

Preparation

• Stir on ice
• Strain into a Nick & Nora glass or small coupe
• Garnish with a thinly sliced apple fan, dipped in leftover cherry syrup from a maraschino cherry jar, sprinkled with demerara or turbinado sugar and bruleed

Ingredients

• 2oz Origami A Thousand Cranes sake
• 1oz Cocchi Americano aperitif wine
• 2 dashes of grapefruit bitters
• 5 drops 33% savory salt solution

Savory Salt Solution

• Combine 2 parts water by weight to 1 part by weight Accent seasoning (or another food-grade monosodium glutamate).
• Agitate until well combined.

Preparation

• In a stirring vessel combine the ingredients
• Stir with ice for 20-30 seconds and strain to a chilled coupe.
• Garnish with an expressed lemon zest.
  

By: Merrick Fagan

2nd Place Winner of the 2024 Craft Cocktail Challenge