The Spirit World

Although Valentine’s Day is officially over, we know that many of you will be saving your celebration for the upcoming three-day weekend that many of you will be enjoying. Unto that end, for the next couple days we will be bringing you more options for your romantic celebrations.

Although Happy Hour at Home is normally a cocktail and an appetizer today we are only going to talk about a cocktail - primarily because the appetizer is contained within!

If you plan to make this cocktail this weekend you really need to get crackin’! It needs an infused vodka, which can be made in as little as three days but that means you’d better be putting it together today! Normally we don’t think of watermelon at this time of year but with our world economy it is often possible to get fruit that is out of season in the middle of the winter. Around here, an abundance of the little personal watermelons are suddenly everywhere! I’m sure they were ordered especially for this holiday. So get your self down to the grocer and pick up one or two of them.

I’ve posted the recipe for the infused vodka over on Culinary Fool, as I started mine over the last weekend. Today is day three in the infusing process and while the vodka is pretty good, I’m actually going to let the balance of it go for a couple more days to really get a full watermelon flavor.

After you cut up the watermelon for your infusion you’ll have some leftover. As a warning (one I should have heeded) you will be tempted to just inhale the remaining pieces - it’s so refreshing at this time of year! - but you need some of it to create the final cocktail. So if you didn’t buy two of them, just put the other half in the refrigerator for the next couple days.

This cocktail is extremely refreshing! And the technique for the infusion can be used with all kinds of soft fruits and vegetables. Around Seattle this last summer cucumbers were the big thing. It seemed every establishment had some sort of cucumber infused liquor in a specialty cocktail - and I’ll bet you I tried just about every one of them. Other ideas for infusions: basil, mint, strawberries, blueberries - let your favorite tastes be your guide.

But for today we are going with watermelon. The pink color is just what you need for this V-day celebration!

Watermelon and Rose Water Cocktail

• 1 - 2 oz of cubed watermelon (5 or 6 3/4″ cubes)
• 1/2 oz Simple syrup
• 2 oz Watermelon infused vodka
• 3 drops Rose Water (be careful as this stuff is strong!)
• Ice

Gently muddle watermelon with simple syrup in a shaker. Add the vodka, rose water and ice to the shaker. Shake vigorously until mixture is well chilled. Strain into chilled martini glass.