Watermelon Mocktail

A watermelon drink worthy of the fruit

I used to avoid watermelon drinks because they never tasted like much of anything least of all watermelon. There was always this promise of something crisp and fresh just like the fruit but the drinks always fell short. Until now.

Recently, I was talked into a watermelon cocktail at a gin tasting while on holiday in Australia. And I loved it. I loved it so much that I was actually ordering watermelon drinks at other places during our vacation and really enjoying them.

Clearly, there was a way to get that deep watermelon flavor in drink form that most recipes I had tried before lacked. I was on a mission to find it to create a watermelon mocktail worthy of the fruit. I knew creating a watermelon syrup would probably be the best place to start since I strongly believe that a good flavored simple syrup makes the best mocktails.

How to get the best watermelon flavor

Let’s be honest. Most watermelon drinks taste watery. So, how can you get a stronger watermelon flavor without resorting to artificial flavorings? It turns out the secret is to macerate the watermelon with some sugar overnight before mashing it up and straining it.

As a test, I tried 3 different ways to create a watermelon “syrup”. One method was to just mash up some plain watermelon and strain it. The second method was to mash the watermelon with some sugar before straining it. The third method (known as the cold press method) was to sprinkle the watermelon with some sugar, let it sit in the fridge for 24 hours, and then mash and strain it.

Then I did a blind taste test with 2 other tasters where we tasted the watermelon syrup on its own and mixed in a drink. We all agreed that the syrup made using the cold press method, by far, had the best flavor on its own and in a drink. The drink actually tasted like watermelon.

The other two methods delivered underwhelming results. The first method with just plain blended watermelon tasted like watered down watermelon. The second method where the watermelon was mashed with sugar tasted like sugar water with an almost undetectable watermelon flavor.

Yes, the overnight method requires some planning but what that method lacks in speediness is more than made up for in flavor. The resulting syrup is also a beautiful deep rich color.

In other words, it’s worth it.

Watermelon mocktails for a crowd

The recipe below is for one drink but you can easily mix up all the ingredients for the mocktail (except for the sparkling water) in a pitcher ahead of time if you’re serving a crowd.

Double or quadruple the mocktail ingredients as needed.

When you are ready to serve, stir up the mixture (the watermelon syrup separates as it sits), pour over ice, and top with sparkling water.