The Japanese Slipper was created in Melbourne in 1984 by Jean Paul Bourguignon, a French bartender at Mietta's, one of the city's grandest restaurants. A bright green Japanese melon liqueur had just arrived on the market, and he balanced its sweetness with orange liqueur and fresh lemon in equal measure. It is now on the International Bartenders Association's list of official cocktails, an unusual distinction for a drink born in Australia, and it has the confident color of something designed in the 1980s.

Despite the name, it is Australian through and through, and it suits the Grand Prix city perfectly: quick, bright, a little flamboyant, and gone faster than expected. Equal parts make it the easiest classic cocktail to remember, and the zero proof version keeps the melon, the citrus and the color.

The cocktail

Ingredients

• 1 oz (30 ml) melon liqueur
• 1 oz (30 ml) orange liqueur (triple sec)
• 1 oz (30 ml) fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup ice cubes
• 1 thin wedge honeydew melon

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