The Spirits #168: The Watermelon Spritz
Plus an amazing Spring Sale
✨Head over to the SPIRITS STORE. The discount code SPRING20 will land you 20% off ALL PRODUCTS until the end of May. That’s a significant saving on the Pic-Amar aperitivo bitters that you can use to make this week’s cocktail, or the Mamy Wata rum that you can use for next week’s or indeed any of the capsule collection including the peerless Negroni bundle. ✨
~ THE WATERMELON SPRITZ ~
30ml Campari
60ml watermelon juice
60ml dry white wine/prosecco
30ml sparkling water
Dash absinthe (or ouzo!)
Combine all of the ingredients in a wine glass or tumbler filled with ice cubes. Rather simple really. Garnish with olives (black?), mint, lemon and well, I guess watermelon wouldn’t go amiss.
Some Watermelon Spritz notes:
You can purchase watermelon juice in certain outlets. But there are also few fruits that are easier to juice. The best way to do this is also the most lo-fi: place a metal sieve over a large bowl and kind of grate the slices against the mesh. A little messy! But this both extracts the juice and edits out the mush.
As I mentioned in my recent guide to the Spritz, prosecco has become the standard spritz wine. But actually in Venice, Spritzes were always more commonly made with Soave, the classic crisp dry white of the Veneto region. I actually made the above w/ Muscadet and it was great. Avoid anything too oaky or citrussy (e.g. Sauvignon Blanc is genuinely terrible in a Spritz).
The little tear of absinthe is the thing that lifts this beverage heavenwards. It occurs to me that this is a faintly Greek spritz therefore ouzo might work too. In fact this might be one of the few acceptable uses for ouzo. See also the Canteloupe Frappé.
Apologies for the delay. But there is one day of Bank Holiday left!
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PLAYLIST
Fruits.
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SOME CABINET POSTS YOU MIGHT ENJOY
🐿️ Amaretto
🧡 Aperol
🍑 Apricot Brandy
🕊️ Bénédictine
❄️ Brancamenta
☕ Coffee Liqueur
🍌 Crème de Banane
🍫 Crème de Cacao
🫐 Crème de Cassis
🌷 Cynar
🦌 Drambuie
🌸Elderflower Liqueur
🏝️ Falernum
🦅 Fernet-Branca
🌿 Green Chartreuse
🐻 Kümmel
🍒 Maraschino
🌵 Mezcal
🦙 Pisco
🐂 Sherry
🧙♀️ Strega (incorporating Yellow Chartreuse)
🌻 Suze
SHOPPING LIST: Let’s keep it simple. Light rum. Lime. Sugar.