Watermelon Coolers
Watermelon is the quintessential summer fruit, that staple of picnics and barbecues and lazy, hazy days. This is perhaps why it's inspired so many drinkmeisters: A roster of bars around town offer cool watermelon drinks in a range of styles.
At the Bristol Lounge in the Four Seasons Hotel (200 Boylston St., Boston. 617-351-2052), bartender Liane McAuliffe whips up a mean watermelon margarita ($12), served in a tumbler with a slice of the pink-fleshed fruit as a garnish. Patrone silver tequila, Cointreau, lemon, and lime are combined with freshly pureed watermelon for a truly refreshing sipper. For good measure, McAuliffe has also created the Iced Sunset ($12): Muscat wine with tiny cubes of frozen watermelon. (A version with Inniskillan ice wine goes for $36.) ''When watermelon is frozen, it enhances the taste of dessert wine, and doesn't dilute it too much," McAuliffe says.
Two watermelon drinks are also featured at West Side Lounge (1680 Mass. Ave., Cambridge. 617-441-5566). ''They're both just summertime in a glass," says general manager Beth Schunke. For the West Side's watermelon margarita, dubbed the Waterita ($8), chunks of fresh watermelon are placed in a glass and muddled; homemade sour mix, triple sec, and Sauza Hornitos tequila are added; and the concoction is served straight-up or on the rocks. The refreshing watermelon martini ($8) consists of the same muddled-to-order fresh watermelon, along with a touch of sugar and lime, plus Ketel One vodka, all shaken and served in a martini glass.
The Greek word for watermelon is ''karpouzi," and at Meze Estiatorio (100 City Square, Charlestown. 617-242-6393), the Greek flavors of home inspired beverage director and general manager Fotios Stamos to create the Karpouzi Blast ($10). ''In Greece, a typical summertime refreshment snack is a watermelon with fennel, with a side of feta cheese," Stamos says. ''There's fennel in ouzo." So the Blast includes ouzo, Cointreau, and Pomerancza (orange vodka) blended with frozen cubes of watermelon and ice.
Jolly Rancher watermelon is a flavor reminiscent of childhood, and one enjoyed -- out of sheer nostalgia, if for no other reason -- by enough adults that there's a Jolly Rancher syrup made from melted candies. The syrup is used to flavor the Watermelon Mojito ($9) at Azure (65 Exeter St., Boston. 617-266-6222), that hotbed of mixology in Back Bay. Fresh watermelon is only used sometimes, in season, but you get a tangy watermelon blast in this blend of syrup, Bacardi silver rum, soda water, crushed mint, and lime.
