Melon Ball Shot
Shake ∙ 3 min ∙ 13.6% ABV ∙
The Melon Ball Shot is a vodka and green melon liqueur shooter rounded out with fresh orange juice, shaken and strained into a shot glass. Bright melon sweetness leads, vodka keeping it clean underneath, with a quick citrus tang that dries out the finish before it's gone.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Shake all ingredients with ice: Vodka 15 mlGreen melon liqueur 15 mlOrange juice 25 ml
- Fine strain into the chilled glass
Tips
- Pre-chill the shot glass so the small pour doesn't warm up before it's served.
- Shake hard and briefly; over-diluting a small total pour flattens the melon flavor fast.
- Fine-strain to keep any ice shards or pulp out of the tight shot glass pour.
History
The Melon Ball Shot is a scaled-down, shooter version of the Melon Ball cocktail, and no single inventor or date for either drink is documented. Most accounts tie its rise to the spread of green melon liqueur in American bars during the late 1970s and 1980s, after Suntory's Midori was introduced to the United States in 1978 at a launch party held at Studio 54 in New York. The bright color and sweet, fruity profile made melon liqueur drinks like the Melon Ball popular in that era's disco and cocktail-bar scene, and bartenders subsequently condensed the same vodka, melon liqueur, and citrus juice combination into a single shot-glass pour. Beyond this general timeline, sources describe the shot's exact origin as undocumented.
FAQ
What is in a Melon Ball Shot?
Vodka, green melon liqueur, and freshly squeezed orange juice, shaken with ice and fine-strained into a shot glass. The melon liqueur (such as Midori) gives the shot its signature green color and honeydew sweetness, while the orange juice cuts through it.
What liquor is the base of a Melon Ball Shot?
Vodka is the base spirit, complemented by green melon liqueur for its fruity character.
How do you make a Melon Ball Shot?
Shake the vodka, green melon liqueur, and orange juice together with ice, then fine-strain into a pre-chilled shot glass. Pre-chilling the glass keeps the small pour cold since there's little liquid to hold its temperature once poured.
