Pink Ribbon Punch

Barbecues are among my favorite events to throw. This is thanks primarily to two easy, delicious things: grilled meat, and punch. I like to think that our summer gatherings are becoming known for both.

This particular version was inspired directly by cheap, tasty-looking watermelon, so I garnished it with some frozen into large ice blocks, with watermelon frozen in the middle, you guys! This is something I've always wanted to try but never had the foresight to manage; my wife, however, dubbed it "very Martha Stewart," which I'm pretty sure was derogatory. Whatever! It looked nice.

The following makes about half of the gargantuan amount seen to the left, which still didn't quite make it to the end of the party. I admit that I may have dumped a bit of it on the table trying to pour the dregs out of the punch bowl.

1 L watermelon juice (well-strained)
750 mL prosecco (something cheap and dry)
500 mL white rum (Bacardi)
500 mL soda water
4 oz lime juice
4 oz lime-coriander cordial
4 oz cranberry grenadine
4 oz Cocchi Americano

Combine in a punch bowl and float some large ice cubes to keep things cool (it helps if everything's well-chilled beforehand).

That's a pretty damn weird mix of metric and imperial units, I know, but it's how I measured, and it turned out really nicely, so I'm recording it verbatim.

Balmy-Barmy

So, I just had one of my less-proud mixological moments.  After picking up what I thought was a lovely bunch of mint over the weekend, I pulled it out of the fridge today, and only after I started picking off leaves to make a pair of juleps did I realize that it wasn't mint at all.  Instead, I had a massive bunch of lemon balm.  The fact that it's also known sometimes as "lemon mint" wasn't much comfort.

What to do?  Well - in it fucking went anyway, with some course corrections.  It took a little tweaking to get just right, but I have to say, I'm pleasantly surprised by the results.

Keep in mind, this isn't really a julep at all, even though it looks like one.

2 oz gin (I used Letherbee because I like it, but you could use a London Dry)
1/2 oz Cocchi Americano
1/2 oz watermelon-strawberry syrup
3 dashes rhubarb bitters (homemade, batch #2!)

Muddle a large handful of lemon balm and the syrup in the bottom of a glass; add ice, gin, and Cocchi, then stir to combine.  Garnish with a few extra sprigs of lemon balm and a straw.

Maybe I will just have to try something similar with bourbon...

Tall and Cool

I'm back!  Yes, friends - it's the first cocktail I've felt worth recording in the last couple weeks.  It's a pretty dang good one, though.

2 oz white rhum agricole (J.M.)
2 1/2 oz watermelon juice
1/2 oz watermelon-strawberry syrup
1 oz lime juice
3 dashes Peychaud's bitters

Shake and strain over large cubes in a Collins glass.  Top with ~2 oz soda water and stir.

One of my favorite things about this drink is how well the anisette component of the bitters mixes with the freshness of the watermelon and the funk of the rhum.  It's a damn fine highball, I must say.

Mocktail Week Afterthought: In-Law Cooler

This is getting a bit freaky - this is about the 8th post in a row dealing exclusively with non-alcoholic beverages.  WTF?  I'll have to get back on track soon.

A request from my sister-in-law prompted this one.  I wasn't aiming for anything too fancy but it turned out interesting enough to merit recording...

1 1/2 oz lime juice
2 oz strawberry-watermelon syrup (turned out relatively dilute thanks to the water content of the melon)
2 oz iced white tea
2-3 dashes rhubarb bitters (homemade)

Shake and strain over fresh ice, then top with about 2 oz chilled cucumber water.  Garnish with whatever's handy - watermelon would be particularly appropriate.

Mocktail Week #2: Wondermelon

This is only my first attempt for the evening, but I tried it and went full stop - this is fantastic, it's getting posted.  It's a little more complicated than some of my attempts from last night, but it works marvelously together - a little sweet, a little sour, a bit bitter, expressive of watermelon and summer, and very refreshing.

1 1/2 oz cryo-watermelon juice (a great way to use up all your leftover watermelon)
1 oz strawberry-saffron syrup (the saffron adds a certain deep, herbal quality that is entirely worth the expense, believe me)
1/2 oz lime juice
3 dashes rhubarb bitters

Shake well and strain over large cubes in a Collins-style glass.  Top with about 2 oz each tonic (Q Tonic for me) and carbonated cucumber water (don't use regular soda, the cucumber really brings out the watermelon flavor).

I'm gonna go have another.

Harder Than It Looks

My mixological rut continues unabated.  Most of my experimentation recently has been more culinary in nature, but I've been re-reading Craft Cocktails at Home and picking up some ideas.  I'll likely have a bit of general experimentation to post about soon.

In the meantime, there's been one spot of mixological success that deserves mention here.  I've talked about the cryo-juicing method here before, and I recently applied it to a bag of leftover watermelon slices.  The result is absolutely beautiful - slightly sweet, very subtle, and extremely refreshing even in small doses.  It just so happened to find its way into a Negroni remix and it couldn't have been more welcome.  The navy-strength gin here made up for the extra volume and retained the incisive flavor of the juniper.

1 oz navy-strength gin (Hayman's Royal Dock)
1 oz Aperol (Campari or Capelletti would work too)
1 oz Cocchi Americano
1 oz cryo-watermelon juice

Stir with a single large ice cube in an old-fashioned glass; garnish with a strip of grapefruit peel.

I named this after its very pretty pink color, combined with the fact that it retained a pretty fair punch from the gin.  Handle with care.