Cocktail Hour
It was not uncommon this time of year where I grew up for a hillbilly to cut a 1-inch diameter hole in a watermelon, drain a bottle of Everclear into it, let the fruit run the booze through its webby veins overnight, then serve slices of the tanked-up melon to children. This practice explains a lot about Arkansas’ teen pregnancy rate and love of watermelon.
That memory struck me this week as I stole pieces of a beautiful dark orange juicy cantaloupe from the Cha. I put him to bed that night and began tinkering on a cocktail that would celebrate that delicious melon flavor without resorting to disgusting melon-flavored liqueurs. Four nights of R&D later, the result was the Cantaloupe Martini, pictured above. Dump one handful of cubed, ripe cantaloupe into your shaker. Pour one half tablespoon granulated sugar over it. Muddle like crazy. Pour three to four jiggers vodka. Stir like crazy. Add a handful of ice cubes. Shake like crazy. Strain into your martini glass. Go crazy.
That will give you a martini-strength drink. Catjjy prefers a sweeter mix and so for her I substitute the fourth jigger of vodka for a jigger of triple sec. If you are looking to tone it down a bit more, use two jiggers of vodka, one jigger of triple sec, and serve over ice with a third again as much club soda.
That memory struck me this week as I stole pieces of a beautiful dark orange juicy cantaloupe from the Cha. I put him to bed that night and began tinkering on a cocktail that would celebrate that delicious melon flavor without resorting to disgusting melon-flavored liqueurs. Four nights of R&D later, the result was the Cantaloupe Martini, pictured above. Dump one handful of cubed, ripe cantaloupe into your shaker. Pour one half tablespoon granulated sugar over it. Muddle like crazy. Pour three to four jiggers vodka. Stir like crazy. Add a handful of ice cubes. Shake like crazy. Strain into your martini glass. Go crazy.
That will give you a martini-strength drink. Catjjy prefers a sweeter mix and so for her I substitute the fourth jigger of vodka for a jigger of triple sec. If you are looking to tone it down a bit more, use two jiggers of vodka, one jigger of triple sec, and serve over ice with a third again as much club soda.
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