With its deep, jewel-toned color, the Ogon-ike (“Golden Pond”) cocktail brings together the mellow sweetness of umeshu, the vibrant character of cherry brandy, and the crisp lift of ginger ale for an elegant, easy-drinking glass. Named after a moss garden pond in Kyoto, it’s a refined cocktail worth savoring slowly.
Recipe & Instructions
Ingredients
Recipe no.010
- Umeshu (Japanese plum wine) ー 5/6 oz (25ml)
- Cherry brandy ー 1/3 oz (10ml)
- Blue curaçao ー 1/3 oz (10ml)
- Ginger ale ー Full
- Full = fill the glass about 80–90% full
Instructions
Fill an Old Fashioned glass (rocks glass) with ice and stir to chill it, then discard any excess water.
Add the umeshu, cherry brandy, and blue curaçao, and stir well to combine.
Gently top with ginger ale, being careful not to create foam, then give it a light, slow stir to finish. When mixing in carbonated ingredients, stir slowly with just one or two rotations, lifting and lowering the ice to combine everything evenly.
- Technique ｜Stir
- Glass ｜Old Fashioned Glass
- ABV ｜approximately 5–6%
- Best Enjoyed ｜Daytime
About Ogon-ike (Golden Pond) & Video
Origins
Photo ｜ Ogon-ike, Saiho-ji Temple, Kyoto
Kokedera, Kyoto’s famous “Moss Temple,” draws visitors for its garden blanketed in over 120 species of moss — but here’s the twist: none of that moss was part of the original design. When master gardener Musō Soseki built Saiho-ji’s garden in 1339, it held no moss at all. War and repeated flooding left the grounds untended for centuries, and moss crept in on its own, gradually turning ruin into what’s now one of Japan’s most celebrated gardens. This cocktail takes its name from Ogon-ike, the pond at the garden’s center, shaped after the character for “heart” (心) and known as Shinji-ike for exactly that reason.
Umeshu’s mellow, distinctly Japanese sweetness meets cherry brandy’s fruit character, while blue curaçao lends the drink its deep, jewel-green hue. Ginger ale ties it together with a crisp finish, hinting at the pond’s quiet, moss-covered mystery.
I’d call Ogon-ike less a sweet cocktail and more a drinkable garden, built on the same principle as the real one: beauty that came together over time, not all at once.
Characteristics & Flavor
Photo ｜ Japanese Plum Tree
Ogon-ike is a liqueur-based cocktail built on a distinctly Japanese sense of harmony, where visual beauty and flavor come together in balance. It strikes a graceful line between sweetness and refreshment, appealing to a wide range of palates.
That balance comes from how umeshu’s mellow sweetness meets cherry brandy’s fruitiness and blue curaçao’s vivid color, all tied together by ginger ale’s crisp lift. The result reads sweet without feeling heavy — clean and genuinely easy to drink.
The first sip brings umeshu’s gentle sweetness, followed by cherry brandy’s bright, fruity character. Ginger ale’s carbonation moves lightly across the palate next, before blue curaçao’s deep green color lingers into the aftertaste. I’d compare that sequence to sitting quietly at the pond’s edge, watching the color shift.
In short, Ogon-ike is lightly sweet with a refreshing finish — a modern take on Japanese elegance, as beautiful to look at as it is to drink.
Points, Twists & Food Pairings
- Best Pairings・・・Pair with mochi, green tea sweets, or salty rice crackers — the umeshu’s fruity sweetness complements delicate Japanese desserts beautifully.
- Mixing Tip・・・Add the blue curaçao last, drizzling it slowly over the back of a bar spoon so its color settles gently without muddying the layers.
- Easy Twist・・・Swap ginger ale for tonic water for a drier, more herbal finish, or add a splash of soda for an even lighter, crisper glass.
- Drinking Note・・・This cocktail’s ABV is fairly light, but its sweetness makes it easy to drink quickly — pace yourself and pair it with water.
Recipe Videos
- Recipe Videos ｜ Muse Amuse Channel Home
