My Pink Lady

I found this amazing recipe on Pinterest recently. A recipe for a fresh fruit cocktail... with a strawberry and watermelon base. What better time that July 4 to experiment with it? Our friends gifted us a cocktail mixer kit for our first wedding anniversary... and it seemed like the stars had aligned and the time had arrived :)

I modified that recipe a lil bit and made my own first fresh fruit cocktail. I must admit, though the first glass tasted a lot more like watermelon juice than a cocktail... it got progressively better and became S's favorite before the night ended.

Here's what I mixed in together:

Use a standard measure, whatever you have on hand. Doesn't have to be something that comes with a cocktail shaker kit. The following makes 1 tall glass.

• Puree watermelon and strawberry in equal parts and then strain it through a colander to get a pure seedless puree. Add 2 spoonfuls to a cocktail shaker/glass where you will mix more.
• Drop 1-2 mint leaves into the container.
• 1/4 fresh lemon squeezed. Drop the lemon wedge as well into the shaker. You may use bottled lemon as an alternative.
• Give it a stir and add 1 measure of Vodka
• Keep stirring while adding 1.5 measure of Soda
• Finally add 1 measure of Simple Syrup (Sugar Syrup). I used a store bought bottle.
• I added a lil bit of the spice mix that I describe in 'Prepping the Glass' section below and that adds some kick!

Caution - if you add water instead of Soda, you may close the shaker lid and shake the cocktail container. It is believed to deliver a better taste. However, with Soda in the glass - shaking will only create fizz and consequently a messy bar table !

Prepping the Glass
In a shallow plate - add some salt, and lemon pepper powder and some red chili powder (or cayenne paper). Hold the semi wet glass upside down and dip into the plate with the powder so that the rim is evenly lined with the mix.

There you go, stir it all up and pour into a glass. Let the mint leaves fall through, but hold the lemon wedge. Decorate by adding tiny slices of Strawberries and Blueberries into the glass. I used a portion of a bamboo skewer to thread the fruits and served a pro-drink!

PS: I made a small cut on the strawberry in the skewer to balance it on the glass.