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10 umami cocktails we’re loving right now

Read time 3 Mins

Posted 16 Apr 2026

By
Evan Jones

The Umami Old Fashioned with a bottle of soy sauce

Take your drinks to savoury new heights with soy sauce, miso, matcha, rocket and even Vegemite (yes, really). 

There was a time, not so long ago, when flavour scientists (it’s a thing) thought that we had just four basic tastes: salty, sweet, sour and bitter. Now we know there’s a fifth – and we’re not talking about the basic taste of your friend who owns one pair of jeans and still thinks Harry Potter tattoos are cool. We’re talking about umami.

Umami is essentially savouriness, a flavour we detect when compounds like glutamates are present – and they’re very much there in foods like anchovies, tomatoes, mushrooms and cured meats. Umami isn’t just great in food, though – that moreish savouriness is also perfect in cocktails (as you might have gathered from our piece on other savoury cocktails). Umami adds a certain depth and deliciousness that stands apart from those sour, sweet or bitter cocktails that tend to hog the limelight. We think it’s time umami cocktails got the attention they deserve, so here are 10 that are easy to make at home.

10 of the best umami cocktails
2 MINS READ
1. So-Miso cocktail recipe
The Japanese named umami, so it’s only fair that one of their greatest umami-packed ingredients – miso – should feature in this round-up. While the salty, savoury fermented soybean paste usually comes in the form of soups and sauces, it works a treat in the So-Miso cocktail as a foil to the zippy acidity of apple and lemon juice, and the sweetness of sugar. Fresh cucumber and a gentle froth are the icing on the umami cake.
3 MINS READ
2. Umami Old Fashioned cocktail recipe
There’s something about the blend of salty, umami and sweet flavours that keeps us coming back for more. If you’re nodding in agreement, then consider this cocktail your new go-to. The umami and salty one-two punch of soy sauce balances the sweetness of maple syrup and dark rum, while amontillado sherry brings a nutty note in the background to tie it all together. We don’t use the phrase ‘flavour explosion’ lightly.
4 MINS READ
3. Bloody Mary cocktail recipe
All hail Bloody Mary, the undisputed queen of umami cocktails and the greatest brunch booze in all the land. Tomato juice and Worcestershire sauce are the two glutamate-packed umami bombs doing most of the savoury-style heavy lifting here, but the Bloody Mary is far from one-note. Tabasco brings a vinegary heat, lemon juice cuts through with its sourness, and vodka reminds you that this is still very much a drink, not a brunch side dish. Complex, moreish and worthy of the umami crown.
2 MINS READ
4. Michelada cocktail recipe
Light Mexican lager (AKA cerveza) brings a touch of bitterness and bubbly length to the Michelada – the perfect vehicle for umami-laden ingredients. Our recipe ramps up the savoury flavours with clamato juice (a potent mix of tomato juice and clam broth), Worcestershire sauce and the soy-like Maggi seasoning. Throw in the spicy kick of Tajin and a whack of fresh lime juice, and you’ve got an all-day cocktail worthy of every umami lover.
2 MINS READ
5. Aussie Summer Eggnog cocktail recipe
The southern hemisphere Christmas is typically too hot for rich and creamy cocktails like Eggnog, but we can make an exception for this true-blue twist. The Aussie angle starts with local spirits and muscat but takes a real detour with a spoonful of our own black gold, Vegemite, which is loaded with glutamates. This makes it a great umami-adding ingredient – but we’re not using so much that it’ll taste like your morning toast. Trust us, this really works.
3 MINS READ
6. Tomatini cocktail recipe
Vodka infusions might call to mind nightclub dancefloors in the 2000s (yes, we’re old) but they are a clever way to sneak flavour into a cocktail. Take the Tomatini, which infuses vodka with tomato, letting us have a crystal clear Martini that’s loaded with umami. A little Champagne vinegar makes up for the acidity lost in the infusion while a few drops of olive oil make a herbaceous, textural garnish.
3 MINS READ
7. Rocket Gimlet cocktail recipe
Rocket (AKA arugula) has always had a place in our lives as an accessible, hardy salad green. As it turns out, the same peppery, savoury bite that makes it a winner with a vinaigrette also makes rocket a sneaky hit in a lime-heavy Gimlet. Seriously – if you add rocket to a cocktail shaker, it releases its vibrant green colour and delicately flavoured oils into the drink without any of the fibrous thickness that plagues spinach smoothies.
5 MINS READ
8. Satay Mary cocktail recipe
Satay may be a Southeast Asian staple, but it feels so natural in Bloody Mary form. Here, we’re leaning on the nutty savouriness of peanut butter, the sweet-edged soy sauce stylings of Maggi seasoning, and the garlicky bite of Sriracha to punch up the tomato base of the classic Bloody Mary. The result is a super-umami cocktail that is begging for a few grilled skewers to hang out with.
2 MINS READ
9. Matcha Sour cocktail recipe
The world’s favourite green drink (see ya later spirulina smoothies), matcha has long transcended its traditional tea-style serving. Now, matcha can be whatever you want, bringing its subtle bitter and umami flavours to everything from cupcakes and chocolate bars to cocktails – as in this Matcha Sour. The delicate flavours of matcha marry up with herbaceous gin, zesty lemon juice and a touch of syrupy sweetness to become a silky, perfectly balanced cocktail.
4 MINS READ
10. Brown Butter & Sage Sour cocktail recipe
Something magical happens when butter is browned – it transforms its flavours and adds complex, nutty notes to the creamy mix. Brown butter adds depth to everything from pan-fried gnocchi to choc chip cookies, but don’t sleep on this cocktail. It uses a technique called fat washing to infuse the flavours and richness of butter (and the anise-like aroma of sage) into gin. It’s easier than it sounds, and the end result is silky smooth and deeply complex.
Authour image
Evan JonesEvan Jones is a Melbourne-based writer who believes that enlightenment can be attained with nothing more than a sour beer, a good sandwich and sunshine.
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CocktailsBeerGinEntertainingWinterEasySavourySourVodkaLiqueurs'Best of' listsOtherBitterSummerDry
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