Peppermelon

Honey makes a fantastic cocktail ingredient, especially in flavored syrups. This recipe combines honey with black peppercorns in a syrup that combines deliciously with fresh watermelon, lemon juice and gin. Check out more drink recipes featuring honey at honey.com.

1 1/2 oz. gin
3/4 oz. black pepper honey syrup (see below)
1 oz. fresh watermelon juice
1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice
Ice cubes
Tools: muddler, shaker, strainer

Glass: cocktail

Garnish: cube of watermelon dipped in ground pepper.

Muddle the watermelon in the bottom of a shaker, add remaining ingredients and shake with ice. Double strain into a chilled glass and garnish with a cube of watermelon dipped on one side into ground black pepper.

Black Pepper Syrup
Add 4 tablespoons of black peppercorns to a hot pan and heat gently until you can smell them. Remove from heat. Boil 2 cups of water and add the peppercorns. Cook for 3-5 minutes, then remove from the heat and strain the solids out. Measure the remaining liquid and add enough water to bring it back to two cups. Return to the heat and stir in 2 cups of honey until dissolved. Cool, transfer to a bottle and refrigerate.

H. Joseph Ehrmann, Elixir, San Francisco

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