For A Better Midori Sour, Follow This Citrus Tip

Here's a tip: When mixing a Midori Sour, it is always best to use fresh ingredients. If you have never had this cocktail before, you certainly will want to try making one; its sweet and tangy flavor, along with its show-stopping green hue that results from the Midori melon liqueur within, make it a fun drink to sip on at least once. That being said, the original Midori Sour that ruled the 1980s is not the version we would recommend. Instead, we suggest updating the cocktail by swapping out the traditional sour mix for fresh citrus juice.

Sour mix is a blend of sugar syrup, flavoring, and preservatives that was once frequently used to throw together quick and easy cocktails. It has since fallen out of fashion, and for good reason. While pre-made sour mix is convenient, it just doesn't taste very good. It tends to have a cloyingly sweet flavor with an artificial-tasting sourness that is more reminiscent of Halloween candy than it is of an adult beverage. 

Meanwhile, citrus fruits like lemon and lime provide plenty of natural acidity, as well as an inherent freshness that cannot be recreated by any kind of syrup. Opting for freshly squeezed juice can save a Midori Sour by preventing it from being overwhelmed by that sticky sour mix and instead offering a more balanced and enjoyable drinking experience.

Swapping sour mix for fresh citrus juice is easy — all you need to do is use 1 part lemon juice and 1 part lime juice for every 3 parts Midori — but the harder part of this tip is getting enough juice out of the fruits, especially if you are making a big batch of cocktails. Hand squeezing can be exhausting, and while kitchen tools like Michael Symon's recommended tongs or old-fashioned citrus juicers can help, the absolute best way to juice a lot of citrus is to simply blitz the whole fruit in a food processor. 

Once the blended fruit is liquified, just strain out the pulp and save the juice. Additionally, the quality of your citrus can make or break the final flavor of your drink. When buying lemons and limes at the grocery store, pick ones that are large, heavy, and round, with a flexible skin that gives slightly under pressure without feeling mushy. These fruits tend to have more juice than their counterparts, meaning you get more bang for your buck. 

Once you've got your hands on some good citrus, be sure to store your fruits correctly to keep them at peak freshness — either on the counter with good airflow if you plan on using them soon, or in the fridge if you will be holding onto them for longer than one week.