The Lee Bros. Simple Fresh Southern_ Knockout Dishes With Down-Home Flavor - Matt Lee [6]
This cocktail is composed of equal parts crushed ice and punch, so that the ice partially melts into the concentrated brew, creating a slushy drink. Freeze it further after blending and pack in a thermos for transporting to a picnic, or double the recipe for a party and serve it in a punch bowl, floating a whole green apple in it to telegraph the main ingredient.
1 cup apple cider
½ teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons dark or light brown sugar
8 ounces (1 cup) dark rum, such as Mount Gay or Myers’s, chilled
10 ounces (1¼ cups) Laird’s Applejack or a calvados or lambig, chilled
4 dashes Angostura bitters (optional)
Seltzer water or club soda
In a pitcher, mix the cider, lemon zest and juice, brown sugar, rum, and applejack together. Stir vigorously for several seconds to dissolve the sugar. Fill each of four 8-ounce rocks glasses to the top with crushed ice, and divide the punch evenly among the glasses, garnishing each with a dash of bitters and a splash of seltzer.
WATERMELON MARGARITAS
serves 8 • TIME: 15 minutes
The perfect drink for steamy summer evenings on the porch. We tame the deliciously syrupy sweetness of watermelon juice with lime juice and tequila to make a margarita so balanced and easy-drinking, you’ll need to watch yourself (and the porch railing!). Note that if you let it sit, the watermelon juice separates into a thick red pulp and a clearer liquid; since you want the pulp to give this drink luxurious body, be sure to whisk up the juice thoroughly before pouring it into the shaker.
4 pounds seedless watermelon
Eight 1-inch-long strips lime peel
Kosher salt
16 ounces (2 cups) fresh lime juice (from about 16 small limes)
16 ounces (2 cups) tequila blanco (“silver tequila”)
8 ounces (1 cup) Triple Sec, Cointreau, or other orange liqueur
1 Cut the flesh from the melon (discard the rind), chop it into chunks, and transfer it, in batches if necessary, to a food processor or blender. Liquefy the watermelon. You should have about 1 quart watermelon juice.
2 For each cocktail, salt the rim of an 8-ounce glass by first smearing it with a piece of lime peel and then dipping it in a saucer of kosher salt. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, and add 4 ounces (½ cup) of the watermelon juice, 2 ounces (¼ cup) lime juice, 2 ounces tequila, and 1 ounce orange liqueur. Shake vigorously and strain into the glass. Garnish with the lime peel.
cool it down!
watermelon lime cooler If you’re the abstemious type, omit the alcohol in this drink, pour it over ice, and you’ve got a really delicious summer cooler. You may want to add a splash of seltzer to make it a little less sticky. You’ll see what we mean.
GINGER LEMONADE
serves 8 • TIME: 10 minutes steeping, 5 minutes preparation
If we were musicians, we’d write a torch song about ginger and lemon, a match made in heaven. And though we’ve been drinking fresh lemonade as long as we can remember (Coca-Cola was taboo at 83 East Bay Street), we never thought to make a cold fresh-ginger lemonade until recently. Now we’re making up for lost time. This drink is easy to make, super-refreshing, and happens to be a kick-ass mixer with bourbon and tequila, so those of you who are of age should mix up the Ginger Lemon Drop and the Lemon Gingerita variations that follow.
2 ounces fresh ginger, peeled, cut into thin disks (⅓ cup)
¼ cup honey, or more to taste
⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
¾ cup fresh lemon juice (from about 4 large lemons)
1 Put the ginger in a medium heatproof bowl. Bring 2 cups cold water to a boil, then pour it into the bowl and stir to agitate the ginger. Slowly pour in the honey, stirring until it’s dissolved in the concentrate. Add the salt, cover, and let steep for 10 minutes.
2 Strain the concentrate into a large pitcher (it will keep for 5 days, covered, in the refrigerator), reserving the