Note: Made by the famous Suntory Japanese whisky makers, this liqueur is made from matcha green tea and several herbs.

First Impression: Thick aromatic bouquet. Rather strong hints of green melons, tea, lychee, lemon grass, citrus and a host of other herbs.

Appearance: Brilliant clarity. That being said, the color is a touch scary.Kind of a yellow green reminiscent of an absinthe but an unnatural one – color doesn’t seem right for a natural shade or hue. On swirling, leaves thick coating on glass, then develops some legs.

Taste: Thick, almost glycerin entry, massively sweet. Rather strong herbal and tea component but buried under lots of sweetness, with the fruits,almonds and vanilla notes in the taste come more forward towards the end. A pleasant if clinging aftertaste, with a mild alcohol presence. Imagine mixing agave syrup, tea and Navan. A sweeter tea concoction than even what my Russian friends drink. Chilled it settles down somewhat – the tea is more prominent, the sweetness is tolerable but you lose the other aromatics.

Drinks: Lots of relatively good if not inspirational drinks on the website. Works reasonably well in the drinks we tried and would also work as an agave or simple syrup substitute in other drinks – especially if you want color.

Bottle: Tall slightly fluted bottle with silkscreened labels, very dark green in color (so dark it appears almost black). Very hard to miss and easily identifiable. Green screwcap and neckwrap.

Final Thoughts: An interesting liqueur but overly sweet for my expectations of a tea liqueur- almost seems like a misnomer. Rather pricey for what it is.

Website: http://www.suntory.com/zen

Fast loading webpage with little real information, drinks recipes with pictures are a nice touch.