“Hermes Melon Liqueur”

If you’ve never heard of this,it’s probably because they changed its name to Midori in 1978. Midori is an interesting honeydew liqueur;it’s bright green colour and unique textured bottle make it look like something a Romulan or elf would drink. It’s a rare ingredient in Tiki cocktails,but can make a very nice drink.

Mix #16 Fink Bomb

1oz Cruzan coconut rum*
1oz Midori
3oz pineapple juice
1/2oz Stroh 160-proof rum*

Fill a double old fashioned glass with ice,then pour in the following order: coconut rum,Midori,pineapple,and then float the Stroh’s on top.

*I used Shipwreck coconut and Lemon Hart 151.

A friend sent me this recipe after buying the book Liquid Vacation from Frankie’s Tiki Room. He used Parrot Bay and Kōloa Kauaʻi Dark Rum. It looked cool,so I tried it. I first used Thrashers(pictured),but later switch to Shipwreck,and used Lemon Hart 151 for the float. Stroh’s is a spiced rum while LH is Demerara,so I think my version is probably smoother. While Frankie’s wants you to use a straw and go up from the bottom,I prefer drinking it from the lip to get to the 151 first. Overall it’s a very nice mixture of rum and sweet and it’s made its way into my regular rotation of mixings.

Mix #17 Midori Cactus Juice

1oz coconut rum
1oz vodka
1oz Midori
3oz pineapple juice
splash of club soda

Shake everything together except soda. Pour into glass,top with soda,and stir.

After trying the Fink Bomb,I became interested in Midori and did some searching on the ‘net for recipes where I found this on Midori’s site. A very smooth sweet drink that works well as a cooler.

Mix #18 Midori Illusion

1/2oz vodka
2oz Midori
1/2oz triple sec*
1oz pineapple juice
1oz lemon juice

*I used Pierre Ferrand dry curacao.

Meh,maybe triple sec would have worked better,but this just didn’t do it for me. It just didn’t taste like a properly balanced drink. Doubt I’d try it again with triple sec.

Mix #19 Japanese Slipper

1oz Midori
1oz Cointreau*
1oz lemon juice

*I used Solerno blood orange.

Again,maybe I should’ve followed the original recipe and used Cointreau,but this just didn’t do it for me. Way too orange forward and bitter. Of course I did get the recipe off Wikipedia,so maybe they’re to blame. In any case,with only two ounces of low octane liqueur,it’s not a bad drink for lightweights.

Update: I remade this with the proper Cointreau,and it did taste much better. Still orange forward without much melon,but I liked it.

Mix #20 Scooby Snack

3/4oz coconut rum
3/4oz Midori
3/4oz creme de bananes
3/4oz pineapple juice
2oz whipped cream

Shake everything except whipped cream and pour into glass. Top with whipped cream and pineapple wedge for garnish.

Found this after reading the Wikipedia page for Midori. Most sites say it’s named for the famous cartoon,but History of Shots says it was named for a Japanese doctor of holistic medicine named Nishiwaki Scooby. Since it uses Midori(originally produced in Japan) I’m going with their version. It’s a very interesting drink in that it starts out banana-y,then the melon kicks in,and it leaves you with a coconut finish. Quite nice actually,and you can use it as a Halloween drink.

Until next time,Sayōnara!