Watermelon Sugar Harlan Pepper
The sweet complexity of this cocktail is best described as a mashup of Harry Styles in Watermelon Sugar and Harlan Pepper in Best in Show. This drink, which I’m calling Watermelon Sugar Harlan Pepper, is sophisticated but simple, absurd but sexy, and every sip leaves you wanting more.
First, this beverage is crisp, cool, and refreshing with bright notes of juniper and thyme that blend into the sweet summer watermelon as if they were always meant to be together. Finally, a subtle spicy warmth takes over your mouth as the pepper completes your taste journey. The spice will make you crave another sip, and another, and another. Drink responsibly. These go down easy!
I also suggest rewatching Best in Show while you enjoy this cocktail!
Cocktail Ingredients (makes 2 cocktails)
3oz Gin (Heritage Elk Rider)
2.5oz watermelon juice
.5oz lemon juice (freshly squeezed is best)
1oz lemonade (I prefere Santa Cruz)
.75oz thyme pepper honey simple syrup
Small watermelon slice (for garnish)
Simple Syrup Ingredients
½ cup water
½ cup honey
1tbs black pepper, cracked (I used Mountain Rose)
10-12 small thyme sprigs
Cocktail Instructions
Make “watermelon juice” by blending watermelon chunks or cubes into a liquid
In a cocktail shaker, mix all ingredients, and shake!
Pour over ice
Garnish with a cute little slice of watermelon, sprinkled with pepper
Enjoy!
Simple Syrup Instructions
Combine water, honey, and pepper in a small saucepan over medium heat, bring to a boil
Warm a mason jar with hot tap water so it’s ready to take on the hot syrup
Put the thyme in the warmed jar
Pour the hot syrup over the thyme and let it cool
After the mixture comes down to room temperature (wait at least 30 minutes), pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer to remove pepper and thyme
You should now have an earthy brown syrup that’s the perfect combination of sweet, spicy, and herbaceous!
Inspiration
Every summer I try to figure out how to enjoy melons. I know that I should like them, with their sweet and juicy flesh (gag!), but I’ve never much enjoyed the watery weirdness of watermelon, cantaloupe, or honeydew.
This year, as I watched children ravenously devouring their weight in watermelon, I decided to get creative and figure out a way to get some of that pink watery mess into my body. The next day, I had a vision for a watermelon pepper cocktail and got to work dreaming it up. I knew I wanted a gin base, started Googling, and got inspired by this recipe.
I typically shy away from juniper-forward gins but thought the juniper would complete this drink so I went with the Elk Rider gin from Heritage. I started looking for simple syrup recipes, with the idea to incorporate an herbal flavor. I had fresh basil on my countertop at the time, but that wasn’t the right flavor. I found this simple syrup recipe and made slight modifications.
There’s no right or wrong way to find cocktail inspiration!
