Head south – as in south of the U.S. border — to discover the roots of this fruity craft cocktail. It’s a favorite at Mexico’s Flora Farms (flora-farms.com), where the restaurant’s motto is “from our field to your table.” The restaurant, bar, grocery store, spa, and “culinary cottages” all are located on a 25-acre organic working farm in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico.
Serves 2
Ingredients:
6 ounces of watermelon juice*
1 ounce freshly squeezed orange juice
1 ounce mint syrup**
1 ½ ounces freshly squeezed lime juice
4 ounces rum***
½ ounce Controy****
A few mint sprigs for garnish (optional)
Mix everything together, pour into 2 Mason jars or 2 glasses, and decorate with mint sprigs.
Preparation:
*To make watermelon juice, place pieces of watermelon in a blender and puree until liquified. Press the mixture through a fine sieve to remove the pulp.
**To make mint syrup, combine 1 cup water, ¼ cup sugar, honey, or agave, plus a bunch of mint leaves (the more leaves, the more minty the syrup will taste). Bring the water and sugar (or other sweetener) and mint leaves to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the sweetener dissolves and the mint leaves are well wilted (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat, steep to allow the flavors to blend and the syrup to cool. Then, if you want pieces of mint in the cocktail, pour the syrup in a blender and puree until the mint is in small pieces. Otherwise, strain the syrup through a fine sieve to remove the mint leaves. Note: This is NOT what’s known as “simple syrup,” which is made with half water/half sweetener. This is a less sweet syrup.
*** Flora’s uses Matusalém, but says “otherwise Bacardi works.”
****Controy is a Mexican brand of orange liqueur. If it’s unavailable, Flora’s suggests using Cointreau.
—Adapted from “Watermelon Farm Julep,” courtesy of Flora Farms
Recipe tested by Ellen Ficklen; email questions to hello@watermelontimes.com