This lil pink drink from Apothecary in Dallas, Texas, features an unexpected ingredient: lingonberries. Lingonberries are a cousin to cranberries—a little brighter and juicier, and a little less tart. You can buy lingonberry syrup or concentrate online. For this particular pink drink, you’ll also need to make the pickled watermelon rinds at least three days in advance. This batch cocktail recipe produces a lot of infused watermelon pisco, which keeps for a long time in the refrigerator and can be used to make other drinks—just pour over ice and add soda water for a quick spritz.
recipe 
yields
Serves 40
1,500 milliliters Watermelon Pisco (recipe follows)
500 milliliters Combier Pasteque watermelon liqueur
250 milliliters lingonberry syrup or concentrate
750 milliliters lime juice
1 bottle sparkling rosé
Garnish: Pickled Watermelon Rind and Salted Watermelon Foam (recipes follow)
½ large seedless watermelon (about 1 pound)
6 (750-milliliter) bottles pisco
1 ounce Combier Pasteque watermelon liqueur
6 ounces sparkling rosé
5 ounces (10:1) saline solution
1 ounce egg whites (white from approximately 1 egg)
1 whole egg
Rinds from ½ large seedless watermelon
16 ounces red wine
16 ounces rice wine vinegar
1 cup sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
3 whole cloves
1 star anise
Special equipment: Immersion blender, whipped cream canister, N20 cartridges
Ingredients
For the Watermelon Pisco
For the Salted Watermelon Foam
For the Pickled Watermelon Rind
steps
Make the Watermelon Pisco
- Cut watermelon roughly into chunks, removing rinds and reserving for pickling. In a large stockpot, combine watermelon and pisco, and blend with an immersion blender. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Strain mixture through a chinois strainer into a large container with a lid and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. You will gain about 750 additional milliliters of liquid from the watermelon. Recipe makes 1¼ gallons.
Make the Salted Watermelon Foam
Combine all ingredients in canister fitted with an N20 cartridge and twist to charge. Shake for 3 to 4 minutes before using; refrigerate up to two days. Recipe makes garnish for about 20 cocktails.
Make the Pickled Watermelon Rind
Chop watermelon rinds into ½-inch cubes. In a large pot, add all ingredients except watermelon rinds and bring to a boil. Add watermelon rinds and remove pot from heat. Let cool and store in fridge for a minimum of 3 days before using. Recipe makes about 1 quart.
Make the Lil Pink Drink
- In a large container, combine Watermelon Pisco, Combier, and lingonberry syrup.
- When ready to serve, add 2 ounces batch mixture to a cocktail tin filled with ice, then add ¾ ounce lime juice and shake. Strain into a wine goblet and top with rosé. Garnish with Salted Watermelon Foam and Pickled Watermelon Rind.
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Recipe By
Tanner Agar and Greg Huston from Apothecary in Dallas, Texas -
Contributing City
Dallas
