Nice Melons

This elegant and stimulating version of a watermelon margarita is vermouth forward, has a touch of smokiness from mezcal and just the right amount of watermelon. Photo by Jordan Mixson.

Ingredients

For watermelon ice

1 medium watermelon

Filtered water

For watermelon-infused vermouth

25 cubes watermelon

1 (375 ml) bottle Dolin Blanc vermouth

For pickled watermelon rind

Reserved rind

2 cups rice wine vinegar

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup mirin

2/3 cup sake

For cocktail

1-½ ounces watermelon-infused Dolin Blanc Vermouth

¾ ounce Los Vecinos Mezcal

¾ ounce lime juice

½ ounce simple syrup

Watermelon ice

Pickled watermelon rind

Instructions

To make watermelon ice: Cut watermelon rind off into strips, remove the skin and set rind aside in a large bowl for pickling. Cut watermelon into 1-inch cubes and reserve 25 cubes to infuse the vermouth. Add the rest of the watermelon to a blender and blend until smooth. Strain purée and add filtered water in a 3 to 2 ratio (3 parts purée to 2 parts water). Freeze in 1-inch x 5-inch molds. When frozen, cut cubes in half and reserve in the freezer until ready to use.

To make watermelon-infused vermouth: Add reserved watermelon cubes and Dolin Blanc vermouth to a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a bowl and leave it covered at room temperature for 2 hours. Strain through cheesecloth and reserve in the refrigerator. To make pickled watermelon rind: In a pot over medium heat, combine rice wine vinegar, sugar, mirin and sake. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat and cool to room temperature. When cool, pour over watermelon rind in a large bowl. Be sure rind is submerged in the liquid. Infuse for 24 hours in the refrigerator.

To make the cocktail: Combine watermelon-infused vermouth, mezcal, lime juice and simple syrup in cocktail shaker. Add one of the half watermelon cubes. Hard shake until the ice cube is dissolved by half. Pour ingredients into a cocktail coupe and garnish with pickled watermelon rind. Cheers!