Watermelon Gin Cocktail

In their book Prairie: Seasonal, Farm-Fresh Recipes Celebrating the Canadian Prairies, food journalists Dan Clapson and Twyla Campbell share recipes sourced from notable chefs in the Prairie provinces – as well as a few of their own favourites. This recipe is Campbell’s, and was inspired by a Harry Styles song – you can probably guess which one. “’Watermelon Sugar’ is my 2020–2023 song because I pretty much listened to Harry Styles non-stop,” Campbell shares. “He (and his former bandmates) kept me moving forward, or you could say, in the ‘one direction’ I needed. To honour Mr. Styles, I created this summery cocktail, Watermelon Sugar, named for the catchy track on his album Fine Line. This cocktail is pure Harry Styles: good-looking, slightly unconventional, a little sweet and a little spicy.”

In keeping with the “Canadian prairie” theme, Campbell likes to use a range of locally-sourced beverages. “Anohka gin, an award-winning London dry-style gin from Alberta, takes the lead as a nod to Harry’s UK roots, while Field Notes’ Don’t Call Me Sweet Pea Garden Amaro, a delicious Alberta spirit made from distilled field peas, is added for balance,” she writes. “An Italian amaro like Montenegro makes a good stand-in if you can’t find the Alberta product.”

Watermelon Gin Cocktail

A sweet-and-spicy summer cocktail with fresh watermelon and London Dry gin, finished off with Thai basil and a sugary rim.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course Cocktails, Drinks

Servings 1

Ingredients

  

• pink sugar for rim
• flaked salt for rim
• 1 lime wedge for rim
• 2 cups 2-inch cubed fresh watermelon
• ½ cup loosely packed whole Thai basil leaves
• 1½ oz London dry-style gin see note
• ½ oz mellow amaro see note
• 1 tsp chili-infused honey I use Hive Gourmet’s Hive on Fire
• juice of ½ lime
• 2 oz rosewater

Instructions

 

• Mix the sugar and salt in a shallow dish and set aside. Wet the rim of a rocks glass with the lime and dip it into the sugar-salt mix.
• Muddle the watermelon with the Thai basil in a cocktail shaker. Add the gin, amaro, honey, lime juice and rosewater, add ice and shake for 30 seconds. Add fresh ice to a rocks glass and strain the cocktail into the glass.

More prairie recipes from Dan Clapson & Twyla Campbell

Spatchcocked Chicken With Savoy Cabbage and Carrots

Spatchcocked chicken is roasted alongside savoy cabbage and carrots. Placing the chicken on top of the vegetables allows them to baste and cook in the juices as the bird roasts.

Get the recipe

Stir-Fried Tomatoes and Eggs

Carmen Cheng's recipe for a childhood comfort food favourite: stir-fried tomatoes and eggs, served over rice.

Get the recipe

Raspberry Clafoutis

A recipe for a classic French dessert using seasonal Prairie ingredients, created by Dan Clapson and Twyla Campbell.

Get the recipe

Excerpted from Prairie by Dan Clapson and Twyla Campbell. Copyright © 2023 Dan Clapson and Twyla Campbell. Photographs by Dong Kim. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.