agua fresca champagne cocktail
I'm always craving watermelon cocktails, but the truth is I never ever make them at home because I hate cutting up watermelon and I hate getting a blender (and frankly the whole kitchen) all sticky. It's just too much work for a cocktail! Especially when I only want one or two. So when I found this recipe for a watermelon champagne cocktail that didn't require any blending, I was intrigued. Lauren from A Fabulous Fete geniusly muddled sliced watermelon into juice right in a cocktail shaker, no blender needed! I took her recipe and tweaked it a little, switching out the lemonade for lime, and it deliciously tasted like my favorite non-alcoholic drink, an agua fresca, but with champagne (upgrade!)
Since it's summer and we're all a little bit lazier these days, I made it even easier by buying pre-chopped watermelon from my local bodega and highly suggest you do the same. The pre-chopped melon and the muddling trick made me go from never wanting to make a watermelon cocktail, to wanting to make them all the time.
To make an agua fresca champagne cocktail, first muddle a handful of mint and the juice of two limes together, then add in 5/6 slices of watermelon cubes and muddle some more until the mixture becomes a juice. Add ice and shake. Pour and strain into a coup and top with champagne. Alter to your taste- you can make them as boozy or light as you want by mixing up the champagne to juice ratio.
Garnish with a sprig of mint and you've got summer in a glass.
