watermelon moscow mule

if you're in the u.s., i hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend! after taking a short blogging break last week in light of my trip to charleston, south carolina for southern blog society's SBS con, i'm back! i'm going to have a long, photo-filled recap post of my trip soon, but first, i figured we all needed a summer cocktail.

i love moscow mules. one of my favorites bars here in birmingham, 41st st. pub, makes my favorite mules ever. i'm partial to the fever tree ginger beer they use at 41st st., but i know there are many, many varieties you can pick up at the grocery store. for this cocktail, i used barrit's.

moscow mules are refreshing, easy to make, and highly customizable. watermelon juice seemed like a totally natural addition. let me tell y'all, these were freakin' delicious. i was so pleasantly surprised by how well the watermelon juice complemented the ginger.

you can make some fresh watermelon juice by following this tutorial and then straining it to get rid of pulp, or, if you have a local juicery, have them make you some to pick up. i promise that using fresh watermelon juice is worth it. you could simply puree some watermelon if you don't mind a pulpy texture, but i preferred mine smooth.

watermelon moscow mule

1 part (shot glass full) fresh watermelon juice

2 parts vodka

1 part fresh lime juice

1.5 - 2 oz. ginger beer

combine watermelon juice, vodka and lime juice in a cocktail shaker with ice, and shake until combined. pour into a copper mug, and top with ginger beer. be sure not to shake your ginger beer, or you'll have a fizzy mess on your hands! garnish with lime, mint or watermelon and enjoy.