Midori is a melon-based liqueur made by Japanese company Suntory. It has a deep green color and is commonly used in fruit drinks. Midori became popular in the US after a launch party at Studio 54 and product placements in movies. It has a strong melon flavor and is quite alcoholic at 40 proof.
Midori is a melon-based liqueur. It is occasionally drunk plain or over ice, but is most commonly used in fruit drinks, such as a Midori Illusion. The word midori is Japanese for simply “green” and is an ideal description of this liquor – which has a deep green color, reminiscent of green absinthe.
Midori is made by a Japanese company, Suntory, which also makes a number of other alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. In America, Suntory is perhaps best known as the company that makes the whiskey for which Bill Murray is shooting an ad in Sophia Coppola’s film Lost in Translation – a film whose premise was loosely based on the experience of Coppola’s father filming a advertisement for Suntory in the late 70s. Suntory unveiled its first melon liqueur in 1971, called Hermes’ Melon, but this liqueur never achieved any kind of popularity outside of Japan. In 1978, however, Suntory tried again by releasing the Midori melon liqueur, and that time everything went well.
The launch party, held at Studio 54 in New York City at the height of her popularity, helped propel Midori into the mainstream. Other well-targeted product placements have also helped make Midori a trendy new drink among the growing crowd of clubbers – the final scene of the movie Saturday Night Fever, for example, is of a Midori billboard. The same year, a signature cocktail featuring Midori, called Universo, won first place in the annual U.S. Bartenders Guild competition.
Midori comes in just one size, a beautifully designed 70cl bottle made from textured glass that showcases the bright green color of the liqueur. The bottle is roughly square, tapering towards the top. The Midori label is very discreet, with a small brand logo on the front near the mouth of the bottle.
As a liqueur, Midori is quite alcoholic at 40 proof (20%). It’s a bit syrupy and has a gravity of 1.0513, making it somewhere in the middle range for layered drinks – roughly the same gravity as Irish Cream or cherry brandy. The taste is quite subtle at first, but as the palette gets used to the drink, the flavors come through much more strongly.
The prevailing flavor is, of course, that of melon. Unlike some liqueurs, which keep their flavors very delicate, Midori is definitely a melon drink. The taste is more like a honeydew or other similar melon, with a strong sweetness that can be better offset by tonic water or something similar. Many drinks are made with Midori, and in addition to signature cocktails like The Universe and The Illusion, classic drinks like the martini or margarita can be made to replace Midori with one of the ingredients.
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