On The Rocks To Debut Ready-To-Drink Midori Sour Cocktail
"Help! The 80s are back," wrote The New York Times in 2018. It turns out the ethos we thought was exclusive to the decade that gave us Gordon Gekko's "greed is good," MTV, and Madonna, was only just beginning to rear its neon-hued head. In 2022, restaurants were awash in the same excess, with edible gold-laden desserts and caviar-encrusted potato chips. But it wasn't until we learned of the triumphant return of the Midori sour that we knew the 80s were truly back — as in "like, totally, fer sher" back.
Consisting of Japan's melon-dominant Midori liqueur, stirred with a splash of sour mix, the fluorescent green, maraschino cherry-adorned cocktail was the definition of conspicuous consumption and is, arguably, the quintessential 80s quaff. And in the last few years, the Midori Sour cocktail has appeared on the to-do list of many a mixologist, as its revival is now taken seriously enough that they tend to eschew those premade mixes.
According to a press release bottled cocktail purveyor On The Rocks sent us, online searches for drinks bearing the Midori name have been up 83% this year alone, so the company plans to ride that wave and add a ready-to-drink Midori sour to its existing lineup. It seems other RTD cocktail makers will have no choice but to be "green" with envy.
The ready-to-drink Midori Sour, a la On The Rocks
On The Rocks Premium Cocktails is releasing its ready-to-drink Midori Sour cocktail come April, according to a press release sent to Tasting Table. It's not only the first bottled Midori Sour but also the only one that can honestly claim to be the real deal. That's because On The Rocks is owned by Beam Suntory, which came up with the idea for Midori's Japanese melon-infused liqueur in the 1960s and has been making it exclusively ever since.
"As Beam Suntory is the originator of this iconic liquid, it's exciting to bring it back to life in this new format," the company states. And that new format, which combines Midori's proprietary melon infusion with hints of lemon and lime, promises to appeal to today's cocktail aficionados, many of whom wouldn't dream of a Midori Sour that didn't get its ABV from pure, smooth vodka.
OTR's new Midori Sour, which has an ABV of 20% (roughly equivalent to that of Midori liqueur), "energizes and capitalizes" on the current enthusiasm for the 80s, according to Beam Suntory's managing director, Heather Boyd. On the Rocks founder Rocco Milano told Forbes that OTR's bottled RTD version of the 80s classic is long "overdue."
The ready to drink cocktail will be available in two sizes, both coming in at 20% ABV, and only for a limited time.