National Watermelon Day is on Friday, August 3, and whether or not you plan to celebrate the holiday, there’s arguably nothing better than a refreshing watermelon cocktail on a hot summer day.
With that in mind, we’ve put together a list of six watermelon-based cocktails from famous bars around the country that can help you up your prepared drink game.
Check out the complete list below!
Credit: Midnights
National Watermelon Day is on Friday, August 3, and whether or not you plan to celebrate the holiday, there’s arguably nothing better than a refreshing watermelon cocktail on a hot summer day. [ami-related id="1292640" url="https://www.usmagazine.com/food/pictures/national-tequila-day-recipes-for-5-cocktails-that-arent-a-margarita/" title="5 Tequila-Based Recipes That Aren't a Margarita" target="" showsubt="false" thumb="false" imgsrc="https://www.usmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Mandarina-Rosa-Featured-Photo.jpg"] With that in mind, we’ve put together a list of six watermelon-based cocktails from famous bars around the country that can help you up your prepared drink game. [ami-related id="1271553" url="https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/pictures/celebrities-drinking-martinis-in-honor-of-national-martini-day-pics/" title="Stars Who Love Martinis" target="" showsubt="false" thumb="false" imgsrc="https://www.usmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Jennifer-Lawrence.jpg"] Check out the complete list below!
Credit: Midnights
National Watermelon Day is on Friday, August 3, and whether or not you plan to celebrate the holiday, there’s arguably nothing better than a refreshing watermelon cocktail on a hot summer day. [ami-related id="1292640" url="https://www.usmagazine.com/food/pictures/national-tequila-day-recipes-for-5-cocktails-that-arent-a-margarita/" title="5 Tequila-Based Recipes That Aren't a Margarita" target="" showsubt="false" thumb="false" imgsrc="https://www.usmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Mandarina-Rosa-Featured-Photo.jpg"] With that in mind, we’ve put together a list of six watermelon-based cocktails from famous bars around the country that can help you up your prepared drink game. [ami-related id="1271553" url="https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/pictures/celebrities-drinking-martinis-in-honor-of-national-martini-day-pics/" title="Stars Who Love Martinis" target="" showsubt="false" thumb="false" imgsrc="https://www.usmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Jennifer-Lawrence.jpg"] Check out the complete list below!
Credit: Hudson House
Hudson House restaurant in Los Angeles is owned by Top Chef season 14 winner Brooke Williamson, and the establishment’s spicy watermelon margarita is as tasty as it gets. “The spicy watermelon margarita was the first cocktail I created when we opened Hudson House 10 years ago,” Williamson tells Us Weekly. “And is, to date, the only opening cocktail still on the menu. It has become a Hudson House staple, and the most popular drink on the list. I think it speaks volumes to the importance of balance and simplicity, which is what Hudson House it all about. We use good quality tequila, fresh watermelon, fresh lime and fresh chilies. It’s refreshing, it’s spicy, it’s balanced, and it’s a drink that I personally still crave 10 years later.”
INGREDIENTS:
• 2 oz Corralejo Silver
• .75 oz Cointreau
• Juice of 1/2 a lime
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon
• .75 oz. agave
• 4 of slices of watermelon
• Serrano chili
• Splash of cranberry juice
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Muddle four 1-inch pieces of watermelon with two thin slices of serrano chili.
2. Combine all ingredients and mix together.
Credit: Midnight Rambler
Midnight Rambler in Dallas, Texas, is owned by Chad Solomon and Christy Pope, who got their start at the acclaimed New York City bar Milk & Honey. The 1000W Thumper, which gets its name from the Texas nickname for watermelon, is a slightly more complicated drink that’s in a league of its own. “I created the drink in the summer of 2016 to be be a long refreshing panacea for the punishing triple-digit north Texas heat, and it has consistently been our most popular summer cocktail,” Solomon tells Us. “Mark Twain declared watermelon ‘chief of the world's luxuries… when one has tasted it, he knows what angels eat.’”
INGREDIENTS:
• .75 oz fresh lime juice
• .5 oz Mineral Simple #4 (1 cup sugar dissolved in 1 cup mineral water)
• 2 oz watermelon juice
• 1.5 oz Tanqueray Gin
• 1 dash Angostura bitters
• 2 drops Mineral Saline (1 tbsp kosher salt and 9 tbsps mineral water)
• 2 drops Electric Holy Basil (dehydrated basil infused with absinthe via sous vide)
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Combine all ingredients and shake in a cocktail shaker.
2. Strain into a highball glass.
3. Top off with club soda and garnish with a watermelon spear.
Credit: Midnights
Beat the heat with this frozen cocktail from Midnights in Brooklyn, New York, that features Simple Vodka. The vodka is sustainably produced, and for every bottle made, 20 meals are donated to U.S. hunger relief organizations.
"Muggy summers remind us of snacking or just plain gorging on ripe, chilled watermelon, and then spiking it with any and all alcohols when we were older,” Paul Kolbe, a partner at Midnights explains to Us. “We wanted to recreate that feeling in a frozen cocktail and found that a good vodka was the best spirit to spike it with because it keeps the watermelon front and center. Simple Vodka is our go-to for this drink not only because it is crisp and subtle, but also because we like the idea of helping a good cause while enjoying a summer cocktail.”
INGREDIENTS:
• 1 oz mint simple syrup
• 1.5 oz Simple Vodka
• .25 oz fresh pressed lime juice
• Splash of fresh pressed ginger
• 3 oz watermelon juice
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Combine all ingredients and mix together.
2. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
3. Stir again before pouring over ice and garnishing.
Credit: The Ritz Carlton
“The Watermelon Mule is a refreshing summertime twist on the classic cocktail,” John-André Wielenberg, the general manager of the Ritz Carlton Los Angeles’ WP24 by Wolfgang Puck restaurant tells Us. “Melon and mint add subtly sweet, fruity notes that perfectly compliment the spice from the ginger beer and tartness from the lime juice.”
INGREDIENTS:
• 1.5 oz Absolut Elyx
• 1.5 oz watermelon juice
• .25oz Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur
• .5 oz lime juice
• .25 simple syrup
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Shake with a sprig of mint and strain in mule cup over fresh ice.
2. Finish with ginger beer.
3. Garnish with watermelon, mint and lime.
Credit: Hotel Lincoln
This drink mixes liquors with a separate watermelon syrup, and the final result is totally worth it. “Watermelon is the star of the show, tequila brings the party, and the elderflower brightens and softens the mood,” says Hotel Lincoln mixologist Jon Khan. “The ingredients and the name of the cocktail are synonymous – it’s a beach party in a glass!”
INGREDIENTS:
Cocktail
• 1.75 oz Maestro Dobel Diamante Tequila
• .5 oz Fiorente Elderflower Liqueur
• 2 oz fresh watermelon syrup (see below)
• .5 oz lemon juice
• Watermelon sliver
Watermelon syrup
• 3 lbs watermelon
• 2 liters simple syrup
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. To make the watermelon syrup, weigh out three pounds of fresh cut watermelon and blend with two liters of simple syrup until mixture is liquid.
2. Strain out into plastic container and store for up to five days.
3. Once the watermelon syrup is made, shake all ingredients together over ice.
4. Strain into a Collins glass.
5. Fill glass with fresh ice and garnish with the sliver of watermelon.
Credit: Hotel Revival
This libation uses Bimini hopped gin mixed with a sour watermelon juice to create a cocktail that isn’t overly sweet. The Plymouth Sloe Gin adds a distinct berry flavor, and the drizzle of basil simple syrup provides a refreshing taste.
INGREDIENTS:
• 1.5 oz Bimini hopped gin
• 2 oz sour watermelon juice (add a dash of citric and malic acid to watermelon juice)
• .5 oz Plymouth Sloe Gin
• .25 oz Aperol
• Drizzle of basil simple syrup
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Combine all ingredients except the basil drizzle; shake together with ice.
2. Add the basil drizzle to the bottom of an empty glass, fill with ice, and strain the contents of the shaker over the ice.
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