The owner of the gastropub I work at wanted to have a few drink specials in honor of International Women’s Day on March 8th , 2019. She asked me to come up with a few ideas for a potential drink for the night. Our main bartender on nights had recently requested a few items to be added to the shelves that she wanted to work into drinks, and one of the bottles to arrive that morning was a bottle of Midori.

Midori, Sour Mix, Hard Cider with a Kiwi garnish

Since neither of the ladies or I had ever tried the bright green melon liquer, we opened it up and tried a sample. I suggested that we shake it over ice with sour mix, and then pour it on top of some ice and Smackintosh hard cider from Tandem Ciders in a rocks glass. Seeing as we were playing around with some different fruits as potential garnishes, I threw a slice of kiwi on a bamboo skewer across the top.

The result is a drink that is mildly effervescent, sweet, and sour. Its vibrant, bright green color boldly conveys a sense of the drink’s pluckiness.

The clean and crisp tones of the cider, melon, and lime all interplay to make a drink with an interesting mix of tart and sweet reminiscent of a Jolly Rancher apple candy…. without being sickly sweet like the ubiquitous drinks found in clubs and dive bars in the 90s

Soul Sister Sour
Pour 3 oz Hard Cider into a rocks glass with ice
2 oz Midori
1 oz Lime Juice
1/3 oz Simple Syrup
Shake the Midori, lime, and simple syrup and strain into the rocks glass
Garnish with a slice of kiwi fruit

Prickly Pear Mule and Soul Sister Sour by If the River Was Whiskey