Lemon-Mint Watermelon Cooler

At a summer party last month, my drink-savvy friend CJ brought this spiked watermelon.  It created quite the hen gaggle at the bar. Then we discovered that she was taking the run off from the watermelon and adding tonic and making a cocktail.  This was "limited" and the hen gaggle morphed more into a friendly cat fight over who was getting this alcoholic, summer in-in-a-glass goodness.  Post-party, I asked her to send me the recipe and she forwarded along the food and wine link. I couldn't make this fast enough. I modified the recipe, adding more liquid than called for and adding simple syrup to create more "run off" for cocktails.

1st Step:
Make the Lemon-Minted Vodka

in a 750ml bottle put a spring of fresh mint (I used peppermint but spearmint would work as well)
in a small bowl add 3/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice and 1/2 cup sugar, stir until it dissolves.
pour lemon sugar mixture into bottle over peppermint and fill the rest up with vodka. Let the bottle sit for 2 days like I did, or overnight or for several hours, depending on your time frame.

2nd Step:
Spike the watermelon

Cut a medium-sized, seedless watermelon into chunks and put into a large bowl, preferably the flatter the better for more contact.  Pour vodka mixture over watermelon chunks and add the finely grated zest of 2 limes, 3/4 cup of citrus vodka, and 1 1/2 cups simple syrup. Add freshly chopped mint and mix into the watermelon. Let sit for several hours stirring occasionally.

Lemon-Mint Watermelon Cooler:
 (makes 1 drink)

4 oz (1/2 cup) Watermelon run off juice
4 oz Simply Limeaide (sold in the cold section)
juice of 1 lime
4 oz Tonic Water

put ice in glass or mason jar,
add ingredients in order, 
stir, add a few watermelon chunks

Skinny Version:
Substitute Simply Limeaide with Minute Maid lemonade 15 (also sold in cold section)
use diet tonic
 


CHEERS & HAPPY SUMMER!