Watermelon Tequila Cocktail with Fresh Berries and Mint

This is just a simple, creative, and wonderful summer cocktail that can literally be made from beginning to

end within 10 minutes, assuming you have everything you need.  I have said it before, and I will say it again, summer fruits do not need much, if anything, to be extraordinary.  The combination of ripe watermelon and mint is one of those classic pairings that will never fail.  To push these flavors into a cocktail, a little work on the balance is needed, but not much.  Cocktails always come down to three things:

• Base flavor
• Sweet vs sour
• dominant alcohol

In this case, watermelon/mint is our base flavor.  Sweet is sugar (natural and added), sour is lime juice, and our alcohol will be tequila, though vodka can be a great substitute.  The idea is balance everything without overpowering the cocktail.  I think you will see that with this recipe, because it's a large quantity, involving a lot of watermelon juice, it's fairly easy to get right (ie tough to destroy).  If you notice that yours is slightly bitter (maybe your watermelon wasn't sweet enough), add more sugar!  Too sweet?  Add a touch more lime juice.  You like the cocktail, but wish the mint was little more prominent?  Add more mint.  You see where this is going.  Similar to all great techniques, balance is key, and it comes with experience.  The best thing to do is taste it, and let your brain tell you what it needs.  Ask yourself, what would make this perfect?  What would really put this over the top?  Does it have enough sweet?  Does it have enough sour?  Does it have enough alcohol?  Thus becomes the difference between a good online recipe, and your own masterpiece.

Watermelon Tequila Cocktail

Prep time:  5 minutes
Cook time:  10 minutes
Yield:  6-8 portions

Ingredients:

1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 lb ripe seedless watermelon, cut into cubes
1/2 bunch mint, leaves only
few sprigs fresh basil, leaves only
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup fresh blackberries
1 1/2 cup silver tequila
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Method:

In a small sauce pot, heat the water and sugar together until completely dissolved.  Cool right away, add the vanilla and reserve.  In a bar blender, puree the watermelon with the basil and a few mint leaves, and then strain through a fine sieve to remove any grit.

In a large glass pitcher, add watermelon juice, lime juice, syrup, tequila and mint.  Stir well.  Add the berries and enough ice to completely fill the pitcher.  Serve right away.

Enjoy.