melon stand

2 oz Plymouth Gin (Tanqueray)
1 oz Watermelon Juice
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Aperol
1/2 oz Simple Syrup

Shake with ice, strain into a Collins glass with pebble ice (cocktail coupe without ice), and garnish with 3 watermelon balls on a pick (one watermelon chunk on the edge).

Two Fridays ago, I found myself at Haymarket after renewing my driver's license at the RMV. Among all of the produce, what caught my eye were the mini-watermelons; given the price and their size, it seemed quite worth lugging one home. For a drink, I spotted two recipes in Jim Meehan's PDT Cocktail Book, and the first one I made was the Melon Stand by Jane Danger circa 2008. The book provided the brief history of, "Danger named this drink after her Minnesota dream bar, Jane's Sweet Melon Stand." Tom Sandham's World's Best Cocktails also contained the recipe and provided a little more information through a quote from Jim Meehan, "This is Jane Danger's nod to Milk & Honey bartender Michael McIlroy and Richard Boccatto's Archangel, and Pegu Club owner Audrey Saunders' Intro to Aperol."
The garnish supplemented the fresh watermelon aroma on the nose. Next, watermelon and lemon mingled on the sip, and the swallow offered up gin, more watermelon, and a lightly bitter orange flavor from the Aperol. Overall, it was rather summery and light with just enough complexity from the Aperol to keep things interesting.