Watermelon is such a perfect summer fruit, isn’t it? Technically I can get watermelon year round at the local store, but it’s really not the same. Winter watermelon is a threadbare counterfeit of the sun ripened watermelon that you know is waiting for you in the summer. And oh, that glorious day in June when you carve open your first ripe melon of the season and greedily eat wedge after wedge, the sweet juices running down your chin as watermelon sugar collects in the creases of your hands. Sigh. Melon of the gods.

Sorry, I don’t mean to go on and on, but you’re getting this cocktail recipe after I’ve sampled my wares….a few times over……but man, are these delicious.

I should mention why I first started making a frozen watermelon drink!!! Well, here’s the story – watermelons are big. I love watermelons, so that’s okay…most of the time. Sometimes, a whole watermelon is just more than a lady can finish on her own before nature calls out an expiry date (for the watermelon, not me – knock on wood). But, as with anything you love, you want to nurture it, protect it for as long as possible, and prevent all the badness of the world from interfering with your precious thing. And perfectly ripe watermelon truly IS a precious thing.

(Mike just poured me another. I’d best get this written up STAT on the ASAP)

Where were we again? OH, THE WATERMELON!!!! So there it sat in my fridge, eyeing me balefully day after day and I knew that something had to be done but despite my inclination I simply didn’t have the time to eat it all, so I froze it in chunks.

Hey. Guess what doesn’t defrost well? Watermelon. Slimy, soggy watermelon.

So there I am with a freezer bag full of frozen watermelon that i absolutely could not bring myself to eat at room temperature. Well, you know what they say….when life gives you lemons, you make limoncella…..

Watermelon Margeritas

You see how awful I am? I’ve misled you already. These are NOT margeritas, even if I call them that. There is no tequila, there is no umami, they do not have the spirit of a margerita. However, “Watermelon Slushie” sounds like something vile that you get from a prepubescent clerk at the 7-11, so “Watermelon Margerita” it is.

• 1 cup frozen watermelon chunks (or 1.5 if you’re a total lightweight)
• 2 oz simple syrup *
• 1 oz vodka
• 1/2 oz Chambord **