Mizuwari

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (45 ratings)

Serve in a Collins glass

Ingredients:
2 oz Blended Scotch whisky
Top up with Chilled water
× 1 1 serving
Read about cocktail measures and measuring

Garnish: Lemon zest twist (discarded) & mint sprig

How to make:

Fill glass with ice and STIR until water forms in base of glass. Add more ice and continue stirring to cool glass. STRAIN water from glass, pour whisky into glass and top with ice to brim of glass. STIR whisky and ice, adding more ice to keep ice level with brim. Lastly, add water and briefly stir some more.

Review:

This is simply whisky and water, but as with the Japanese tea ceremony, observing the time and care taken over it making and the prolonged anticipation contributes greatly to the finished drink. And you thought an Old Fashioned took a long time.

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Variant:

Shouso – a twist on a Mizuwari with lemon grass and lemon zest.
Taisho – Japanese whisky and elderflower highball.
Risshu – Japanese whisky with soda, lemon and orange peel.
Shosho – Japanese whisky with soda, rose water and fresh mint.
Shokan – Japanese whisky with cherry brandy, vanilla pod and orange zest.
Daikan – Japanese whisky with dashes of absinthe and cherry bitters.
Risshun – Japanese whisky, honey Umeshu (plum water) and ginger.
Usui – Japanese whisky with violet cordial, rosewater and orange blossom water.
Shunbun – Japanese whisky with Ume shisho (Japanese mint), angostura and orange zest.
Seimei – Japanese whisky with maraschino liqueur, absinthe and lemon zest.
Boshu – Japanese whisky with Mandarine Napoleon liqueur and orange bitters.

History:

Pronounced "Miz-Zoo-Wah-ri", which translates as "mizu" = water and "wari" = divide, thus the whisky is simply cut with water and served over ice. The ratio is personal to both the drinker and bartender and varies between 1:2.5 and 1:4 whisky to water. It is common in Japan for diners to drink Mizuwari in place of wine with their meals and the light whisky flavours combine excellently with Japanese food. Extremely thin, delicate glasses are used and the thickness and quality of glass are considered key to Mizuwari in Japan.

Nutrition:

One serving of Mizuwari contains 133 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.3 standard drinks
  • 31.5% alc./vol. (31.5° proof)
  • 18.9 grams of pure alcohol

Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Maho Lomez’s Avatar Maho Lomez
12th February 2023 at 05:18
"wari" is pronounced "wah-ri", not "ware-e" :)
Simon Difford’s Avatar Simon Difford
13th February 2023 at 08:19
Thanks, Maho. I've corrected above.
27th August 2020 at 23:29
I apologize for taking so long to clarify, I only saw the reply today. Under variants, there's one named "Shunbun" which mentions ume shiso. Thank you!
15th December 2022 at 15:31
I am guessing based on Simon's results specifying a liquid, its probably referring not to a garnish of ume and shiso[also called perilla], but to a product like Umeshu[plum wine] brand Choya Umeshu Shiso. They also produce a Choya Umeshu Honey, which appears to be the product the "Risshun" refers to.
Simon Difford’s Avatar Simon Difford
30th August 2020 at 10:24
Sadly I don't know. Hopefully, another reader can help. A search reveals many references to a Hibiki Shunbun "25ml Ume shiso (Japanese mint)". This is a very old page and I don't have related notes as to the original source.
12th July 2020 at 18:06
Does "ume shiso" here refer to red shiso, or is that cocktail made with umeboshi and shiso?
Simon Difford’s Avatar Simon Difford
13th July 2020 at 06:08
Not sure where you are referring to "ume shiso" in the recipe or comments above? Please can give more info on what you're asking.