Midori Sour
ClassicBright green melon liqueur, balanced by fresh lemon.
Sweet-tart and juicy. Candied honeydew and muskmelon lead, cut by bright fresh lemon and lengthened with a splash of soda so it never turns cloying. Light, easy, and unmistakably neon green.
Ingredients
- 2 oz Melon Liqueur
- 1 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
- 0.5 oz Simple Syrup
- 1 oz Soda Water
- Lemon wheel · optional garnish
Method
- 1
Add the melon liqueur, lemon juice, and simple syrup to a shaker with ice.
- 2
Shake until well chilled.
- 3
Strain into a highball glass filled with fresh ice.
- 4
Top with a splash of soda water and garnish with a lemon wheel.
The Story
The Midori Sour rode in on Midori itself, the vivid green melon liqueur Suntory launched to American bartenders in New York in 1978. Sweet, low-proof, and impossibly bright, it became a defining taste of the late-1970s and 1980s bar — the sour was the drink that showed it off, pairing all that candied melon with enough fresh lemon to keep it drinkable. It never really left, and it still glows the same electric green.
Recipe card
The whole recipe in one shareable image.
