Recipe: Spicy Watermelon Cocktail You'll Be Sipping All Summer

Have you gotten your first watermelon of the season yet? We picked up one yesterday and it is so good! The first watermelon of the season is always the biggest treat! It reminded me to resurface this cocktail because it's the best summertime cocktail! 

Since I had a watermelon martini at Bonefish Grill probably 10 years ago, I've enjoyed experimenting with watermelon in cocktails. I've made a few variations. My husband has also jumped on the watermelon cocktail train and has started experimenting, and we have created the most refreshing margarita-esque cocktail. 

So here's the recipe if you want to snag some watermelon for this weekend, or bookmark this for your next get-together. You could definitely make the watermelon mixture in a big batch for a party. It also makes a great mocktail by just omitting the tequila. If I were drinking it as a mocktail, I'd muddle some cucumber so you get that lovely fresh flavor that you would get from the 21 Seeds cucumber jalapeno tequila. In my experimenting with watermelon, lime, and cucumber, they pair SO well with watermelon! 

Normally, I'd suggest muddling jalapeno slices for a cocktail like this. However, my husband has started keeping full jalapenos in the freezer. You can grate them with a microplane on various foods and drinks. We love it grated on pizza for a spicy kick. It gives you the perfect amount of that jalapeno flavor without being overwhelming. Since the tequila already has a jalapeno kick, the grated jalapeno to top off the drink gives it a pretty look with the pop of green. It adds the perfect 'fresh' jalapeno taste without being overwhelming. 

Ingredients:

⁃ Cubed Watermelon 

⁃ Lime 

⁃ Topo Chico

⁃ Frozen jalapeño

⁃ 21 Seeds cucumber jalapeño tequila 

⁃ Red Clay spicy margarita salt

Instructions:

1. Salt rim of cocktail glass (wipe a lime around the lip of the glass to get the salt to stick)! We love Red Clay Hot Sauce spicy margarita salt. 

2. In a cocktail shaker, muddle 7-8 cubes of watermelon

3. Add the juice of 1 lime 

4. Add 2oz 21seeds cucumber jalapeño blanco tequila 

5. Shake vigorously 

6. Add ice to glasses 

7. Strain the lime, watermelon, and tequila mixture into a glass 

8. Top with Topo Chico

9. Stir

10. Grate a frozen jalapeño on top to your preference (a microplane works well for this) 

Yields one cocktail

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Our next cocktail will be a take on a spicy guava margarita inspired by the incredible cocktail we enjoyed at Wally's Weiners in Newport, RI called 'guava lava'! The cocktail at WW has Spicy Tequila, Guava Liquor, a Splash of blood orange juice, lemon juice, lime juice, and simple syrup. It was served shaken over ice and garnished with jalapeño and lime slices. Now, I need to figure out where I can get guava liquor!