You can enjoy your watermelon martini in these nifty glasses from Mikasa.
July 2006
Last Updated August 2010
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Watermelon Martini & Other Watermelon Cocktail Recipes
Hot Drink, Hot Weather
Overview
Take one of the most popular drinks—the martini—one of the favorite fruits of summer—the watermelon—and the answer is obvious: the watermelon martini.
Thanks to Sundia, delicious watermelon juice is available all year around—there’s no need to wait for summer (see our review of Sundia). By the same token, there’s no martini more evocative of summer than watermelon. Juice is so much more convenient than making watermelon purée; although purée provides texture, mouthfeel, and more intensity of flavor.
We polled bartenders from coast to coast, whose recipes range from the simple to the complex. We’ve included them below, along with our own recipe, the Frozen Fruit. Mix-and-match garnishes include:
- A sprig of mint
- A lemon twist
- A wedge of watermelon, 2" long by 1/2" thick, with a horizontal notch cut into the red flesh to anchor it onto the rim of the glass
- Watermelon balls on a skewer
- Pickled watermelon rind
Some bartenders have been tossing sour watermelon candy into the drink. Hmm. Some also toss some sugar or simple syrup into the recipes. We like a sophisticated cocktail and are philosophically against turning cocktails into sugar drinks with alcohol. Let the spirits and the watermelon speak for themselves.
On The Menu
The Basic
- Combine one part vodka (or citrus vodka) to 1-1/2 parts watermelon juice or puréed watermelon juice.
- Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
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Photo courtesy Watermelon.org. |
The Frozen Fruit
We keep diced watermelon cubes in the freezer—and when there’s no watermelon, or for instant convenience, we cut up a frozen watermelon fruit bar from the supermarket (like FrozFruit).
- Cut watermelon into 1/2" cubes and freeze (or, cut frozen fruit bar into cubes).
- Shake with vodka and pour into glass.
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Time strapped? Cut up a watermelon FrozFruit. Photo courtesy Blue Bunny. |
The MultiMelon
- 1 part melon liqueur (Midori, Melloni, e.g.)
- 1 part citrus vodka
- 1-1/2 parts fresh watermelon juice or puréed watermelon
- 1/2 part fresh lemon juice
- Shake with ice and strain into a martini glass.
Continue To Page 2 For More Recipes
Go To The Recipe Index Above
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Sundia’s watermelon juice is a delicious cocktail base. Photo courtesy Sundia. |
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