On Wednesday morning we learned that it was officially National Watermelon Day, and we just so happened to have a watermelon in the fridge, so it would have been unpatriotic to NOT make watermelon cocktails. Surprisingly, we tried three, and all three were pretty tasty. The watermelon juice was simple enough:
Puree some watermelon in a blender, then strain. The end.
The first of the three (above) was a general approximation of a drink that a friend of ours told us about having in a bar (DeepWood in Columbus, OH) made of gin, watermelon juice and Creme de Violette. We made a slight alteration, and the result was pretty damn good.
1.5 oz Bluecoat Gin
2 oz watermelon juice
0.25 oz Creme Yvette
Shake well with ice and serve up, garnish with watermelon.
As good as that one was, the two drinks we tried on our own actually came out even better. (After the break)
Blood Meridian
2 oz Cazadores Reposado Tequila
0.25 oz St. Germain
1.5 oz Watermelon Juice
2 drops Burlesque Bitters
Shake well with ice, serve up in a salt-rimmed glass with a watermelon slice.
NOTES: Really damn good. It didn’t hurt that this tequila is delicious, but damn, if it wasn’t a refreshing drink. The salt really balanced out the sweetness of the St Germain, too.
Lonely Hunter
1.5 oz Bulleit Rye
1.5 oz Watermelon Juice
0.25 oz Aperol
3 healthy dashes Angostura bitters
Shake well with ice, serve over a big ice cube with watermelon garnish.
NOTES: Not to sound redundant here, but also really damn good. I had expected the rye to be too powerful for the watermelon juice, but they blended really nicely. Both flavors were still definitely there, but neither were overpowering, and neither eclipsed the other totally. Watermelon Day be damned, I don’t think we’ll be waiting until next year to do some more experimenting with this stuff.
