Food Fireworks for the 4th
Prep time: 5 mins.
Total time: 5 mins.
Yield: 1 drink
Ingredients
2 ounces (1/4 cup) chilled watermelon juice
1 1/2 – 2 ounces (1/4 cup) vodka use more or less depending on how strong you like your cocktail
1 ounce (2 tablespoons) fresh lime juice about 1/2 lime
1 teaspoon agave nectar, honey or maple syrup for added sweetness* (optional) fresh mint, lime wedges and small watermelon wedges, optional for garnish
Instructions
Add watermelon juice, vodka, lime juice, and your choice of sweetener syrup to a rocks or cocktail glass then stir to combine. Fill glass to the top with ice then serve with fresh mint and garnish with a lime wedge or watermelon wedge. Alternatively, you could add the ingredients into a shaker, fill it halfway up with ice, then shake to chill.
If you like your drink fizzy, feel free to top it off with about 2 ounces of club soda or even Sprite.
Notes
Watermelon juice is sold at the grocery store. I’ve used Sparkling Watermelon Juice from Trader Joe’s (my personal favorite), Simply Watermelon or Sprouts brand. Or even better, make it fresh! Simply blend cubed (chilled) watermelon in a blender and then strain it through a fine mesh sieve. Plan on roughly 1/2 cup volume loss when blending (ie, 2 cups chopped watermelon will give you approximately 1-1/2 cups watermelon juice.) I recommend blending fresh watermelon juice no more than an hour before serving.
I typically substitute the agave or honey with a 1/2 packet of stevia.
Feel free to double, triple or quadruple this recipe, if you’re serving a crowd.
