Green Apple Cider

A two-ingredient pint cocktail of melon liqueur and apple cider. One ounce of Midori, topped with cold cider, served in a pint glass. Drinks bright green and apple-sweet, a Midori-and-cider long pour for the casual end of the evening.

Green Apple Cider

4.34 from 18 votes

Calories: 82kcal

Prep Time: 3

Total Time: 5

Ingredients

▢ 1 oz Melon Liqueur

Instructions

▢
Add the cider to the liqueur. Serve cold.

Estimated Nutrition:

Calories: 82kcal (4%)Carbohydrates: 10g (3%)Sugar: 10g (11%)

Where it came from

The Green Apple Cider is a 2000s pub cocktail from the British and Australian drinking cultures, named for the bright green colour the Midori adds to the cider. The build pairs one ounce of melon liqueur with a pint of cold cider; pour the Midori first, top with cider, drink direct. The recipe is informal pub-and-student-bar.

It sits in the cider-cocktail family with the Snakebite, the Snakebite Black and the Cider Black. All four lean on a fruit-flavour modifier plus a cider for a long sweet pour. The Green Apple Cider separates itself with the Midori melon-liqueur lead, which gives a vivid green colour that the cassis or schnapps cousins cannot match.

Best ordered at a back-bar pub for the visual novelty or a casual party for the bright green pour, not at a craft cocktail bar. The drink is a colour-first cocktail; the flavour is a soft melon-on-apple, dominated by the cider.

What it tastes like

Sweet honeydew melon up front, soft apple cider through the middle, dry cider hops on the finish. The Midori is a single ounce against a full pint of cider, so the melon character sits as an accent rather than a lead; the cider does the volume and the hop bite.

Around 5 percent ABV in the pint glass once mixed. One ounce of Midori at 20 percent ABV plus a pint of cider at 5 percent ABV stays close to the cider strength on its own. Each pint holds about one and a quarter standard drinks; drinks closer to a flavoured cider than a stiff cocktail.

The technique

Pour one ounce of Midori melon liqueur into a chilled pint glass. Top with a pint of cold cider, slowly so the cider does not foam over the melon liqueur. Do not stir; let the green Midori sit at the bottom of the glass for the colour gradient. Drink direct.

The chilled glass and the slow pour are the technique. A warm pint glass kills the cider carbonation; pouring the cider too fast mixes the layers and loses the green-to-apple colour gradient. Pour the cider down the side of the glass for the cleanest visual.

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Ingredient Spotlight

The bottles that make or break this drink.

The Midori

Use: Midori melon liqueur, the green Japanese standard at 20 percent ABV.
Skip: Watermelon schnapps. Wrong colour and flavour profile.
Why: Midori is the load-bearing colour and the melon flavour. The bright green honeydew character is the visual signature of the cocktail; without Midori the drink is just a cider with a splash of fruit liqueur, which loses the entire visual story.

The cider

Use: Strongbow, Magners, Bulmers, or any 4 to 6 percent ABV apple cider, cold and freshly opened.
Skip: Pear cider or sweet fruit-cider blends. Throws the sweetness curve off.
Why: Apple cider is the volume and the structure. The dry crisp apple character bridges the sweet Midori and gives the drink a long-pour balance; sweet ciders double the sugar and the drink reads cloying.

Three Variations

Three real ways bartenders riff on this drink. Same idea, three different jackets.

The standard build

Green Apple Cider, in a pint glass: One ounce Midori in a chilled pint glass, topped with cold apple cider, no stir. Drink direct.

The double-melon build

Strong Green Apple Cider: Double the Midori to two ounces. Brighter melon, sweeter overall, slightly stronger pour.

The vodka-bomb build

Green Apple Cider Bomb: Add a half ounce of vodka with the Midori. Pulls the drink toward a stiffer pour, holds the green colour.

What if I don't have…

Quick substitutions for when the bottle shop is closed.

No Midori?

Bols Melon or De Kuyper Melon. Different sweetness, holds the green colour and the melon character.

No cider?

An English bitter or a wheat beer. Different hop profile, loses the apple character but holds the long-pour structure.

No pint glass?

A 16-ounce highball or any tall glass works. The volume is the constraint.

No chilled glass?

Pop the glass in the freezer for two minutes before pouring. A frozen glass works as a substitute.

Frequently Asked Questions

Direct answers to what people search for after Googling this drink.

What is in a Green Apple Cider?

One ounce of Midori melon liqueur in a chilled pint glass, topped with a pint of cold apple cider. Two ingredients, served direct, no stir.

Why is it called a Green Apple Cider?

Named for the bright green colour the Midori adds to the apple cider. The drink is a colour-first cocktail; the green-on-apple visual is the marketing, the flavour is a soft melon-on-cider long pour.

How strong is a Green Apple Cider?

Around 5 percent ABV in the pint glass once mixed. One pint holds about one and a quarter standard drinks. Drinks closer to a flavoured cider than a stiff cocktail.

What does it taste like?

Sweet honeydew melon up front, soft apple cider through the middle, dry cider hops on the finish. The melon sits as an accent rather than a lead; the cider does the volume.

Can I make it in a smaller glass?

Yes. Half-pint version: half an ounce of Midori in a half-pint glass, topped with half a pint of cider. Same flavour balance, smaller pour.

What kind of cider works best?

An apple cider at 4 to 6 percent ABV (Strongbow, Magners, Bulmers) is the standard. Avoid pear cider or sweet fruit-cider blends; the drink reads cloying with extra sugar.

Is the Green Apple Cider related to the Snakebite?

Yes, both are cider-based pub long-pours. The Snakebite uses lager and cider in equal parts; the Snakebite Black adds cassis; the Green Apple Cider replaces the cassis with Midori for the green-on-apple colour story.

Why do I not stir it?

The visual is the green Midori sitting at the bottom of the glass under the apple cider, giving a colour gradient from green to amber. Stirring blends the layers and loses the visual; the drink mixes naturally as you drink it.

From the Drink Lab catalogue

Drink Lab has been collecting cocktail recipes since 2013. Some we wrote ourselves, plenty came in from readers, and the rest got passed across a bar somewhere along the way.

Last updated May 8, 2026 · 1 min read