This watermelon drink is made for sitting on the front porch and sipping something cool and easy. The vodka cocktail is simple, a no-recipe recipe made using vague proportions that you taste to get it exactly the way you like. The instructions could read: mix together pureed watermelon, sweeteners, club soda, lime juice, and vodka.
But the still vague yet structured version below is more helpful in getting the best result, and it provides options along the way. You can opt to make it as given, make only Part 1 (to end up with a watermelon soda), or leave out the vodka in Part 2 (to create a watermelon mocktail). It’s that kind of “recipe.”
Part 1: Watermelon Soda (a nonalcoholic base that can be enjoyed as a soft drink or used in the Front Porch cocktail in Part 2):
Ingredients:
Makes about 4 servings
About 8 cups seedless watermelon chunks (rinds removed), preferably chilled
As much as ¼ cup agave nectar
About 4 or more ounces club soda (to add light carbonation), preferably chilled
Preparation:
In a blender, in batches, add the watermelon and agave nectar, pureeing for 20 seconds until smooth. In a pitcher or bowl, combine the pureed batches.
Stir, taste for sweetness, and add more agave nectar or pureed watermelon to taste, if needed.
Just before serving, fill 4 tall glasses with ice, pour or ladle in the pureed watermelon, filling halfway, then add the club soda and mix (selecting your preferred level of bubbliness).
Part 2: Front Porch
Ingredients:
Makes about 4 servings
1 ounce vodka for each glass (total of 4 ounces)
½ ounce or more freshly squeezed lime juice for each glass (total of 2 ounces)
½ ounce or more simple syrup (made by heating equal amounts of sugar and water until completely combined) for each glass (total of 2 ounces)
Freshly made watermelon puree using directions in Part 1 (don’t add the club soda called for in Part 1 yet)
About 4 or more ounces club soda (to add light carbonation), preferably chilled
Preparation:
Fill 4 tall glasses with ice.
Top the ice in each glass with the vodka, lime juice, and simple syrup. Pour in the freshly made watermelon puree and club soda.
Mix and adjust to taste and your preferred level of bubbliness.
–Adapted from the bar menu at Mason’s in Nashville, Tennessee, published in Garden & Gun
Recipe tested by Ellen Ficklen; email questions to hello@watermelontimes.com