Cucumber, Watermelon, Gin

[evilhomer]

I've been fiddling with these three ingredients for two nights and the results vary from simplistic to insipid. A bit of lime juice goes a long way, but the flavours are so subtle that a few drops of bitters dominate. I was thinking of adding some basil to the mix tonight to see if a more balanced subtle and generally delightful cocktail could be coerced - but that also means experimenting on company (which i'm not necessarily opposed to).

Has anyone had any success combining watermelon, cucumber and gin? I have a fair bit of home squeezed watermelon juice and cucumber juice and am playing with hendricks (though we also have tanqueray). Any tried and true formulae would be greatly appreciated.

[plattetude]

Yesterday, faced with a pile of diced watermelon and the attendant watermelon juice, I tossed together a healthy splash of the juice (maybe 1 1/2 oz) with 2 oz Hendrick's gin and a twist of lemon. After a sip, I thought that maybe a splash of Campari would emphasize the watermelonicity. That splash made a huge difference and really made the watermelon jump to the fore. The sweetness was amplified, the color enriched, the bitterness of the Campari somehow gave the drink an essence of watermelon rind (and in a good way).

Yum.

As for cucumber, well, that'd be pretty well rendered moot by Campari, so I guess this won't be of much help on that score.

Christopher

[moosnsqrl]

This won't help with your alchemy but I just made a tequila and watermelon juice with a little (ok, quite a little) salt. Very refreshing although you do have to make it relatively weak to keep the tequila from overwhelming the melon.

[Alchemist]

If you are going with the Hendrick's I would brine the cukes in a little lightly salted water, and a drop or two of rose water. Muddle a couple of thoes maybe try lemon instead of lime, the watermellon, a wisper of simple. Garnish with a paper thin wheel of brined cuke. Sit on a varan-dah in a wicker rocking chair. Muse.

[moosnsqrl]

If you are going with the Hendrick's I would brine the cukes in a little lightly salted water, and a drop or two of rose water.  Muddle a couple of thoes maybe try lemon instead of lime, the watermellon, a wisper of simple. Garnish with a paper thin wheel of brined cuke.  Sit on a varan-dah in a wicker rocking chair.  Muse.

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I like your style.

[phlip]

I'm sick of it. Even if this isn't the right place to say it its a chance. Hendricks is not the only or the best gin to go with cucumber. Gordons works better. When adding citrus and sugar tanquaray will be far supierior. Not only is it not the gin for cucumbers it is also overpriced. (furthermore your not cool if you drink it- the cool kids drink saphire duhh)That said gin cucumber and watermelon is a great combination. I did something of that sort with ginger a while back that was tasty.

Though I think tequila and watermelon have a better affinity.

sorry about the tangent I'm just fed up with this hendricks cucumber compulsion.

cheers

[eje]

Interesting, I've never thought of combining Gin, watermelon, and cucumbers.

When it gets hot, and we start to get decent watermelons, I make Sunburned Senoritas (tequila, lime, watermelon) and I've made a number of cucumber and gin or cucumber and aquavit cocktails.

Hmmm...

I've combined cold soups in a single bowl, say a honeydew and cantaloupe soup, for the color effect. Usually doing something lame similar to a yin yang sign.

Could you layer your cucumber and watermelon juices in a tall clear glass?

Might be striking.

[evilhomer]

watermelon juice smells like cucumbers (seriously, it's stunning)

campari is a winner - great with hendricks - great with watermelons.

i mixed watermelon:gin:campari

~5:1.5:1 and it was great with a little twist of lime

this made me think of the negroni so we mixed an ounce each of gin, sweet white vermouth and campari and then topped up the glass with watermelon juice. A good hit of the bitters and another lime twist. This drink is still not all there, but it's getting good.

I'm gonna try this lightly salted cucumber thing now.

[trillium]

I like infusing my gin with cucumber, over night, in the fridge, and then drinking it with tonic water. This works best with very fragrant cucumbers, like the kind you find at farmer's markets. It didn't work so well with grocery store cucs, but works with nearly any kind of gin (tried Gordon's, Sapphire and Tanq). You might try it with watermelon as well, but I'd pick out the seeds first.

regards,

trillium