Thank heavens for science, those scientists who could have spent their grant funding musing on the origins of Dark Matter, or observing how stem cells mutate, or calculating equations for quantum computing, but instead, dedicated their research and resources to creating the seedless watermelon. Money well spent, I think.

All the joy of that gorgeous pink fruit, none of the picking around for pips. The pure pleasure of taking great bites without having to worry about an unexpected crunch.

There’s nothing like a slice of ice cold watermelon on a hot day – and now that temperatures have hit the 90s in NYC, pretty much every day has watermelon potential.

Watermelon cubes can be frozen then blended with a splash of orange juice to make the most delicious breakfast smoothie. Or blended with a couple of ice cubes and a splash of rum to make an astonishingly pink frozen daiquiri, and honestly, usually, this is where my watermelon ends up. But it also makes a fabulous sorbet – delicious on top of a tropical fruit salad, or turned into a drink by scooping a ball into a glass and topping up with soda water and a squeeze of lemon – or even some more Campari.

The Campari tip came from my friend Hilary, who is the owner of an outré liquor cabinet. You want to drink maraschino cherry sours? She’s got them. Cointreau and Grand Marnier and Triple Sec? Check. So when she tells me she’s tested out a good range of watermelon / booze combinations and this is the best one, I’m inclined to take her at her word. And I love the sharp sour hit of Campari – usually over ice with soda, so I had it to hand, ready for experimentation. It gives the sorbet a deeper sour citrus note, and if it’s possible, makes it an even prettier pink.

For a very quick sorbet, freeze the melon cubes, then blend with a pinch of sugar and a splash of Campari – serve in a cocktail glass with a teaspoon. But for the real deal:

Making the Sorbet

• Heat 1 cup of the watermelon puree with the sugar, whisking until the sugar dissolves.
• Add the rest of the puree, the lime and the corn syrup and whisk to combine.
• Take the puree off the heat and add the Campari.
• If you have an ice cream maker, pour the mixture in and proceed according to its instructions. Otherwise, pour the mixture into a plastic container and freeze for 4 hours (or overnight).
• Let the frozen mixture stand at room temp for a few minutes to soften slightly, then process (or blend) and freeze again.

Note from Nick: Thanks very much Kate for the delicious sorbet! You can find Kate’s blog on Facebook and also follow her on Twitter!

Back in the pre-Macheesmo part of my life, I used to be a part-time bartender and it’s still one of my favorite past times to exchange awesome drink recipes with friends or occasionally come up with some of my own.

So pull out your stirrers and glasses and have a happy hour already! (Tuesday happy hours are the best by the way.)

The Cool Tease

Ok. So I changed the name of this drink to be G-rated. Macheesmo is family-friendly after all (as I write about ways to get you tanked.)

Anyway, the real name is “The Rhymes-with-Spock Tease.” I got this recipe from a bachelorette party so that name makes sense I guess. Whatever you call it, it’s very refreshing on a hot summer day.

The G-rated name.

Watch out with these. They are pretty dangerous. You can’t taste the alcohol at all. The fresh ginger and apple juice are a perfect match for each other and the club soda gives it some fix. This drink seriously rocks.

To make it, just rub a sliced lime around the edge of a glass and then dip it in some sugar to give the glass a nice sugar rim. Then grate fresh ginger in the bottom of the glass. Using the back of a spoon or a muddle if you have one, mash the ginger in with the vodka, just to get the flavors together.

Then add ice and enough apple juice to fill a tall glass 3/4 of the way to the top. Top with club soda and serve with a lime wedge!

Coolin' it down.

The Watermelon Julep

I happened to have some watermelon in the fridge and some mint and I figured that if I added a little bourbon I might just have myself something delicious!

This was a very solid drink. And colorful!

Bourbon. Gotta love it.

I don’t really like to give specific proportions on drinks, but I generally assume about a shot or 1 1/2 shots of liquor. For this julep I used a few small pieces of watermelon (take the seeds out obviously) and a few sprigs of mint. Add about a Teaspoon of sugar and mash all that up in the bottom of a glass. I don’t have a muddler so I just use the back of a spoon for this.

This is pre-muddle.

Do you know how to muddle?

After you get all that mixed up, add your bourbon and stir, then the ice, then top with club soda. Its really refreshing and the watermelon and bourbon work really well together.

The Night Cap

The person I learned this recipe from said that it’s best to drink it on the beach, but I kind of love it as dessert for a dinner or as a night cap.

Sleep tight!

So I made this drink a bit more complicated than it needed to be I think. The first time I made it I thought it’d be fun to make a really strong batch of cold-brewed coffee and use that for the drink. When I tried a round using the coffee with a few friends, the consensus was that it was good, but just missing something.

First we tried adding Scotch and that definitely changed the flavor! Not bad but not exactly right.

Then we tried a second batch with Kahlua and it was perfect.

The ratio I used for this drink was 1 part vodka, 1 part Kahlua, 1 part coconut milk, and ice. The liquid part should cover the ice in the blender.

Just blend it up, taste it and adjust to your liking and serve it up!

Coffee is okay. Kahlua is best.

If you aren’t a drinker, you could definitely make the first two drinks virgins. Just leave out the booze and add either more apple juice or watermelon/club soda to each drink. I think the night cap wouldn’t be great without the booze honestly.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for the second leg in the 3×3 Series!

And of course, feel free to share your favorite cocktail recipe in a comment!