Melons are a very preppy fruit. All pink and green and coral, they practically scream: “Cocktails? Why I’d love to!” at you as you waltz down the produce aisle or through the farmers market booths. Melons are summer’s perfect fruit – sweet, juicy and messy. And who among us didn’t partake in that age-old tradition of spiking watermelon at some point in college? It’s in that spirit that I invite you to throw on some seersucker or madras as you sip this country club version of that old summer treat, made with cantaloupe and gin, cool mint and lime, and a surprising little kick from peppery ginger.

Cantaloupe Cocktail
2 Servings
Courtesy of MyMansBelly.com

2 cups cubed ripe cantaloupe
2 Tbsp. lime juice (from about 1 lime)
1 inch-piece fresh ginger, peeled and diced or grated
3 sprigs fresh mint leaves, plus additional for garnish
4 oz. gin (such as Hendricks or Citadelle)

• Place the melon, lime juice, ginger and mint in a blender with 3 ice cubes. Purée on high until everything is well-blended.
• Pour 1½ cups of the purée into a cocktail shaker and add gin. Cover and shake vigorously for 20 seconds.
• Pour into 2 chilled glasses and garnish with a mint sprig and lime wheel.

Gilding the lily (Pulitzer): A Champagne float would be a terrific finish on this drink.

By Dee Ryan

Tags: cantaloupe, cocktails, Just Five, recipes

This entry was posted on Monday, June 25th, 2012 at 11:17 am and is filed under Just Five. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.