It wasn’t particularly hot today in the Boston ‘burbs, but I’ve been feeling peevish all day (nay, week!) and thought tonight would be a great night for a cocktail. Especially since The Oyster is visiting Dad at the office tonight, and I’ve finished up all my household chores — except for mowing the lawn. I’ll try to get to that tomorrow.
Earlier this week I picked up one of those small seedless watermelons at our local market. When I cut into it last night, I was struck by the brilliant pink of the flesh and thought, after tasting it, the melon would make a fine base for a daiquiri. I blended the flesh in our new VitaMix blender, along with a handful of mint from our garden, then chilled the thick juice overnight. I also made a fresh batch of simple syrup, which is one part sugar boiled with one part water. One thing I like to do with simple syrups is flavor them with herbs or spices. For this drink, I could have steeped star anise in the syrup, or even the mint. But I was too tired and didn’t think of it. Next time.
Tonight I blended the melon juice with 4 cups of crushed ice. Then I stirred in one cup of light rum, 1/2 cup of the chilled simple syrup, and a tablespoon of lemon juice into the slurry. A perfect ending to a peevish day!
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It actually IS really hot today out in San Jose, and that drink looks good enough to get me back to the store and pick up a watermelon. For some reason I always forget about watermelons (in favor of cantaloupe or honeydew) until someone reminds me how good they are. Perfect for the 1st day of summer.