ZEN Green Tea Liqueur
I’m no mixologist, and I’m not even a veteran cocktail drinker, but I was intrigued by the idea of a green-tea-flavored liqueur, so I jumped on the opportunity to review this product. In retrospect, I’m very glad I did.
Although it’s not surprising that green-tea liqueurs have apparently been around for a while in Japan (there’s green tea ice cream, why not liqueur?), according to its press packet, ZEN is the first to be formulated especially with the American market in mind. Seems like a good idea to me, as Americans are currently enamored of all things green tea. Riding the wave of that green-tea love, ZEN Green Tea Liqueur is essentially a blend of high-quality green tea leaves, herbs, and other flavors, in a neutral-spirits base with an alcohol content of 20 percent.
(ZEN is produced by the same company, Suntory Ltd., who makes Midori, a light, sweet, emerald-green liqueur that has become extremely popular in the United States. Together with Midori, ZEN is distributed stateside by SKYY Spirits, LLC.)
Provided along with the bottle of ZEN was a little booklet of recipes. I chose a fairly easy one — the Zen Mojito — to sample first. Opening the bottle, which I’d chilled in the fridge for a few hours, I took a sniff. Raspberry iced tea, was the first thing that came to mind. The fruitiness was unexpected but pleasant, and I thought it was a good sign that the tea aroma was predominant over the alcohol. (For the record, it doesn’t actually taste like raspberries.)
Tasting the ZEN Green Tea Liqueur in the mojito, and then going on to taste it in a few other ways (over the course of a few days–NOT all at once), I developed a preference for those combinations where ZEN was the dominant flavor. The mojito was mmm, mmm mojito, but the rum in it masked the subtler herbal notes of the ZEN. My husband, who, for purposes of scientific objectivity, tested the recipes along with me, came to a similar conclusion, commenting, “I’d like to try the ZEN on its own, to see what it really tastes like.”
ZEN Mojito (recipe courtesy of ZEN)
- 1 ½ parts ZEN Green Tea Liqueur
- 1 ½ parts Matusalem Platino Rum
- ½ part fresh lime juice
- ½ part simple syrup
- Mint leaves
- Club soda
Muddle mint in a cocktail shaker. Add ZEN, rum, lime juice and simple syrup and shake. Serve in a tall glass over ice. Top with club soda.
Because it is tea based, ZEN Green Tea Liqueur seems to marry well with pretty much anything you’d pair logically with a cup of green tea. Good flavor and ingredient matches include ginger, mint, lemon, even cream. Ultimately, our favorite mix consisted of ZEN over crushed ice with a splash of ginger ale and a squeeze of lime. Simple and very “zen.”
Incidentally, chilled and served over ice, ZEN is quite nice on its own. Grass green, the liqueur served without a mixer tastes something like a reduction of honey-sweetened green tea flavored with lemongrass.
ZEN manages to avoid the cough-syrupy consistency that characterizes many liqueurs, having a body that is fairly light and mellow, rounded out with a pleasant herbal finish. Plus, there’s an authentic astringency from the green tea, which I found provides just the right balance to the sweetness. Overall, I really like this liqueur. It’s unique, elegant, and surprisingly versatile.
I’d say this is the perfect liquor to sip with appetizers on a warm spring or summer evening. I’d like to try it in lemonade, iced black tea, and maybe as a flavoring in white sangria or even granita.
For recipes and more info, check out the ZEN Green Tea Liqueur Web site.
ZEN Green Tea Liqueur and ZEN Mojito images courtesy of ZEN Green Tea Liqueur
