On Watermelon & Pineapple
The Simple Way to Use Watermelon and Pineapple in Cocktails
BY: JOSHUA GANDEE
Beverage Director, Watershed Kitchen & Bar
Pineapple and Watermelon certainly top the list when it comes to summer fruit flavors, but for most people, it can be a challenge to know how to use them. Whereas citrus can be as simple as squeezing a lime wedge into a drink, watermelon and pineapple have a few extra steps involved. Once you go through the trouble of getting out your knife, removing the rind, and breaking them down into manageable (juice-able) chunks, you’re usually left with a sticky mess, and way more juice than you’ll be able to use before you start to lose that fresh-squeezed flavor.
The key to getting better flavor and a longer shelf life from these fruits is to use their high water content as the base of a syrup. The added sugar of a syrup not only helps the fruit flavor pop, but it also allows you to keep that flavor for up to a couple weeks in your fridge.
The process is somewhat similar to our Oleo Saccharum recipe in that the key is to let the sugar do most of the work in extracting flavor from the fruits through a maceration technique; No heat necessary. They can be done in around an hour with minimal effort, and you can use them over a couple of weeks mixing drinks for yourself at home, or in a large punch for a crowd.
Syrup Recipes
Ingredients:
One quart cubed watermelon, or pineapple
One cup sugar
Once cup water
Needed:
Fine strainer
Large mixing bowl
Wooden spoon
Watermelon Syrup:
Cut one quart of watermelon into cubes and place in a mixing bowl. Add one cup of sugar to the fruit and lightly press with muddler or wooden spoon to start extracting juice from the watermelon. Let sit for an hour to macerate the sugar with the fruit. Once rested press the rest of the fruit to extract remaining juices. Add one cup of water and stir to dissolve any residual sugars. Strain out syrup into a bottle of your choosing, and store in refrigerator.
Pineapple Syrup:
Cut one quart of pineapple into cubes and place in a mixing bowl. Add one cup of sugar to the fruit and lightly press with muddler or wooden spoon to start extracting juice from the watermelon. Let sit for an hour to macerate the sugar with the fruit. Once rested press the rest of the fruit to extract remaining juices. Add one cup of water and stir to dissolve any residual sugars. Strain out syrup into a bottle of your choosing, and store in refrigerator.
Drink Recipes
Pineapple a Day:
1.5 Watershed Vodka
.5 Lime Juice
.75 Pineapple Syrup
Pinch salt
Add ingredients to a cocktail shaker, strain over new ice in a collins glass and top with coconut water. Garnish with a pineapple stave.
Watermelon My Mind
1.5 Watershed Four Peel Gin
.5 Lemon Juice
.75 Watermelon Syrup
Dash Angostura Bitters
Add ingredients to a cocktail shaker, strain over new ice in an Old Fashioned glass. Garnish with watermelon cube on side of glass.
Punch Recipes
Pineapple a Day (Punch Edition)
1 750ml bottle of Watershed Vodka
1 cup Lime Juice
1.5 cup Pineapple Syrup
Salt to taste
Top with coconut water (around 4 cups)
Combine ingredients in punch bowl and add ice. Or put in fridge to chill and add ice before serving
Watermelon My Mind (Punch Edition)
1 750ml bottle of Watershed Four Peel Gin
1 cup Lemon Juice
1.5 cup Watermelon Syrup
17 dashed Angostura Bitters
1 bottle of Cava
Combine ingredients in punch bowl and add ice. Or put in fridge to chill and add ice (and Cava) before serving.