🥃 Midori

Midori is a bright green melon liqueur created by the Japanese company Suntory. It first went on sale in Japan in 1964 as Hermes Melon Liqueur, and received the name Midori, Japanese for "green", in 1978 for its US launch. The liqueur has an alcohol strength of 20% ABV. Today the brand belongs to Suntory Global Spirits.

For the 1978 American launch, a party was held at the New York club Studio 54, attended by the cast of the film Saturday Night Fever. The liqueur became hugely popular in the 1980s, then faded from view in the late 1980s and 1990s as bar programs turned to more "serious" cocktails. In 2013 the brand was re-introduced at the Tales of the Cocktail festival, and it has been regaining attention since.

The base is Japanese melons: Yubari King from the city of Yubari (harvested in June and July) and muskmelon from Aichi and Shizuoka prefectures. According to VinePair, the flesh is crushed and frozen, and Suntory makes infusions from it in neutral spirit; these are blended and distilled to roughly 59% ABV, and the green colour is added as a colourant. The producer keeps the final strength and sweetness in its own hands.

Sources disagree about changes to the recipe. Difford's Guide writes of a 20% sugar reduction and a new bottle in 2007, while VinePair mentions a 20% reduction in additives and a refreshed bottle in 2012. We therefore record only that the sweetness was reduced, without stating the exact year or nature of the change. The melons are Japanese, but production is not limited to Japan: the British label, according to Difford's Guide, reads "Product of France".

Why this matters to you. Midori is very sweet and 20% ABV, so in a cocktail it is not as light as it seems. The colour is artificial, so it says nothing about the amount of fruit. Check the country of production and the strength on the label: versions for different markets can differ. The WHO reminds us: there is no safe level of alcohol consumption.