A twist on Southern cocktails from OKRA, the online Southern Food Magazine
Watermelon Rum Cooler
Makes one cocktail
1 cup red seedless watermelon, cubed
2 ounces white rum
1 tablespoon agave nectar
juice of 1 and a half limes (about 3 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon chopped mint
crushed ice
Chile Lime Salt (optional)
Combine the cubed watermelon, rum, agave nectar, and lime juice in a blender (or in a bowl if using an emmersion blender). Puree until the mixture is smooth. Strain through a fine mesh strainer. Set aside. If desired, coat the lip of a glass with the chile lime salt by rubbing the lip with a damp towel and dipping the lip into the salt. Fill the glass with ice. Add watermelon mixture and chopped mint. Stir well.
Bourbon New Fashioned
Dickie Brennan's Bourbon House has been serving the New Fashioned since 2002
Before opening
Bourbon House, key members of the Dickie Brennan team ventured to Kentucky to do some hands-on research. While there they talked with Fred Noe, great-grandson of Jim Beam about classic bourbon cocktails and ideas to update them. One idea was using different fruits. The group thought “Louisiana and the Gulf Coast has some of the best produce in the country, why not incorporate that into a classic bourbon cocktail?” Thus the New Fashioned was born. Today, bartenders at Bourbon House use seasonal fruit – peaches, strawberries and blueberries to create this delicious cocktail.
Key Ingredients: Bourbon, bitters, sugar, seasonal fruit
Recipe:
2oz. macerated peaches (fruit marinated in its’ own juices with a touch of sugar overnight – blueberries, raspberries or strawberries may be substituted)
2oz. Knob Creek bourbon
5 shakes Peychaud’s bitters
1 splash simple syrup
1 splash soda
Combine macerated fruit, bitters, splash of simple syrup and splash of soda in a rocks glass and muddle. Add Knob Creek, fill with ice and mix well.
