Bastard vegetableI started out this project with watermelon in mind1 . See, watermelon is Oklahoma’s state vegetable2 and grows exceptionally well in our long growing season. The thing is, I hate watermelon. The texture, mealy; the flavor, insipid; and the messiness, a problem, it’s never been among my top five favorite forms of torture. But, try to use it as a cocktail ingredient, I did, and came up short. Rather than muddling it as at least one TotC tasting room did, with somewhat not unpleasant results, I created “watermelon water” by dicing half a watermelon and letting gravity strain it through cheesecloth. The result has a beautiful color without much else to recommend it. Try to make a watermelon-based cousin to the margarita and you get a fairly good use of tequila in a non-offensive way, but nothing that features watermelon as a flavor or makes one take notice. Try using it with citrus vodka instead and you get a watered-down effect that makes one neither fond of watermelon, or vodka3 . So, screw it, I’m moving on to peaches and raspberries, dammit. Watermelons, and the state legislature, can go to hell.

The Do-si-Do

The Do-si-Do4

  • 2 oz gold rum (used Angostura)
  • 1/2 oz lemon juice
  • 1/2 oz agave nectar
  • 1/4 oz Allspice dram
  • 3 fresh peach slices (approx. half of a peach)
  • 4 fresh raspberries
  • 2 oz Prosecco sparkling wine

Place the agave nectar, peach slices, and raspberries in a mixing glass and muddle well. Add all remaining ingredients except sparkling wine and shake well with ice. Fine (or double) strain into a chilled cocktail glass and top with prosecco. Garnish with dirty looks in the watermelon’s direction.

This is my first time working with agave nectar and it has an interesting effect in that it gives a more earthy and rich sweetness than simple syrup or granulated sugar. It reminds me of a heavy demerara simple syrup. It, along with the high amount of muddled fruit, give this drink an extremely thick and heavy body prior to the addition of the sparkling wine. I wouldn’t use Brut or Extra Dry with this as they will push the drink a little too much toward the dry category and mask the spiciness of the allspice dram and tartness of the raspberries.

When Joana tried this she said, “I think you have a winner; there’s a lot going on there but it all comes together.” And that’s what I noticed as well, that all the constituent parts retain their character but ultimately balance and bounce around the palate without clashing. I’m not a huge raspberry fan but seeing as how blackberries and mulberries weren’t on-hand, though they grow well here too, I went with them and it paid off handsomely. This is a cousin to the Bramble or Blair’s Shamble but being served up and with the sparkling wine floater it takes on different character from that family.

Thanks to Kevin of Save the Drinkers! for hosting. We didn’t get to cross paths or formally meet at Tales, mainly because I was intimidated by his well-coiffed hair and very clean t-shirts. I’ll have to not make the same mistake twice next year.

The Do-si-Do Rating: ★★★½☆

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  1. part of the reason for this post’s delay [↩]
  2. these are the sorts of things that get us International attention, folks [↩]
  3. more on this soon [↩]
  4. named such because the two fruits are “back-to-back” and it does seem to dance a bit on the palate [↩]