When I tell someone that I make my Negronis with rum, I typically get one of two responses. A) that’s not a Negroni, or B) that sounds awful. This drink, though, is a juicy, refreshing summer masterpiece. The bitter complexity of vermouth and Campari is mellowed and brightened by the vanilla and banana flavors of good aged rum and juicy watermelon. This is a fantastic cocktail for a summer evening (or afternoon, or night--honestly, it's good enough that you'll want to double or triple the recipe and keep drinking them all evening).
This version that I photographed uses Contratto bitters, which is another bitter orange Italian aperitivo. On the Campari-Aperol spectum, it leans closer to Campari, but doesn't have quite the same bitterness, making it ideal for a drink that's a little sweeter and more refreshing.
For the rum, prefer aged to spiced. Aged rum picks up notes of vanilla and oak during the aging process, and also tends to gain a banana-like aroma affectionately referred to as "funk" by aficionados. The nice thing about rum is that you can still find a nicely aged bottle for under $25, which will keep you in cocktails for a long time. I like to sub aged rum in wherever I'd use a dark spirit (manhattans, boulevardiers, even juleps). It makes a great daiquiri or mojito, too.
The Recipe
Watermelon Rum Negroni
makes two cocktails
2 oz aged rum
1.5 oz Campari or other bitter orange liqueur
1.5 oz sweet vermouth
2 oz watermelon juice (recipe follows)
Stir all ingredients in a glass with plenty of ice and strain into your favorite cocktail glass. Garnish with orange peel if it suits your fancy, or extra rocks if you need to keep it cool for longer.
Watermelon Juice
To turn a garden-variety watermelon into watermelon juice, all you need is a blender and a fine mesh strainer. This technique works for both seeded and unseeded watermelons.
Scoop watermelon out of rind and into the jar of your blender.
Blend on lowest speed for 30 seconds, until no solid chunks are left. In my home blender, Low is slow enough not to rupture seed casings.
Pass through a fine mesh strainer into a pitcher or bottle, rubbing the pulp against the strainer with your hands.
Enjoy in cocktails, as a spritz with soda and lime, or just drink it straight. It’s watermelon juice!
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