Drink of the Week: Frozen Watermelon Margarita

Happy Independence Day to all!

A holiday like the Fourth calls out for a festive summer beverage and is a great opportunity to break out the blender. If you've been reading my Drink of the Week posts for any period of time, you know that I'm usually a gin/bourbon/straight-up cocktail kind of gal. However, a holiday weekend like this one is a great time to make a blender drink.

I'm usually not a fan of blended drinks because of all the ice that gets thrown into them: if the drink base isn't fairly sweet, the drink tastes very icy to me. This version works well because the watermelon *is* the ice. I freeze 1.5" cubes of watermelon and then build the drink using them. The happy result is that you can still taste tequila (in a good way) and the drink is refreshing, not overly filling. Plus it's a great way to use up the rest of that watermelon you bought for the barbecue.

Frozen Watermelon Margarita

For each drink:

• 1 rounded cup of frozen watermelon cubes*
• 1 to 1.5 ounces tequila
• .5 to 1 ounce of triple sec
  
• squeeze of lime juice
• simple syrup, grenadine or sugar, if needed
  

Put the watermelon cubes in a blender and add the rest of the ingredients (except the sweetener). Blend until smooth (you may need to add a few tablespoons of water to keep things swirling). Taste and see if your watermelon was sweet enough - if not, add a little sweetener and reblend.

Serve in a margarita glass (or a plastic Solo cup) with or without a salted rim.

* The watermelon doesn't have to frozen solid but it should be cold as it is the sole chilling agent here.