Jade Monkey - Midori Banana Highball with Lemon-Lime Soda

The Jade Monkey cocktail is a sweet, vivid green highball built from Midori melon liqueur, banana liqueur, and plenty of lemon-lime soda. Melon leads, banana adds a soft tropical note, and the carbonated mixer stretches both flavors into a simple party-friendly drink that requires no shaker and almost no prep.

Background

The Jade Monkey appears in multiple cocktail recipe collections with the same basic formula of melon liqueur, banana liqueur, and lemon-lime soda served in a highball glass. A reliable creator, bar of origin, or creation date is not well documented, so it is better understood as a modern liqueur-based mixed drink than as a historically defined classic.

What You’ll Need

Ingredients

Midori Melon Liqueur: Gives the drink its bright green color, pronounced melon flavor, and part of its sweetness.

Banana Liqueur: Adds a ripe tropical banana note that rounds out the melon.

Lemon Lime Soda: Lengthens the drink with citrus sweetness, carbonation, and a lighter drinking texture.

If Midori is unavailable, another green melon liqueur is the closest substitute. Crème de banane can stand in for another banana liqueur. For the soda, another sweet lemon-lime soft drink works without significantly changing the style.

Equipment

Highball glass: Gives the eight-ounce build enough room for ice and carbonation.

Jigger: Keeps the two liqueurs in equal proportion.

Bar spoon: Useful for combining the drink gently without knocking out too much fizz.

Melon and Banana Go All In

This is not a subtle cocktail. Midori brings concentrated melon sweetness while banana liqueur adds an unmistakably tropical second layer. Six ounces of lemon-lime soda keeps those rich liqueurs from drinking like a short dessert cocktail, adding fizz and citrus that make the combination lighter and easier to sip.

Substitutions & Variations

For a slightly less sweet Jade Monkey, replace part of the lemon-lime soda with club soda while keeping enough sweet soda to preserve the drink's character.

Swap standard banana liqueur for crème de banane for a similarly fruit-forward variation.

Add a small squeeze of fresh lime juice if you want more acidity to counter the sweetness. This is a variation rather than part of the standard three-ingredient specification.

For a shorter, richer version, reduce the soda rather than increasing either liqueur.

Helpful Tips

Chill the lemon-lime soda before mixing so the drink stays cold without excessive dilution.

Add the soda last and stir gently. Aggressive stirring will flatten the carbonation.

Use plenty of fresh ice in the highball glass. The long serve benefits from staying very cold.

A lime wheel makes an easy garnish if you want extra citrus aroma, while a maraschino cherry plays up the drink's colorful, playful presentation.

Because the base is only two liqueurs, batching is simple: combine equal parts Midori and banana liqueur ahead of time, then portion over ice and top each glass with soda just before serving.