When a heat wave strikes, you must do anything you can to cool off. Being stuck inside with air conditioning gets old. So head outside with these watermelon basil margaritas to keep you cool.
The last time we made watermelon margaritas was in the heat of late July in 2012. We were vacationing at my parents’ lake house and we could not cool off. Swimming in Lake Winnipesaukee worked, but when night came, we could not get relief. We didn’t want to be cooped up inside with the air conditioning, so we snacked on fresh fruit and cocktails.
On one of our grocery trips, we purchased two watermelons. We did realize how much watermelon we had until we started cutting up. So much watermelon. The next time a batch of margaritas was requested, I threw in the watermelon. They were good, but missing something.
Watermelon Basil Margaritas are simple it hurts.
After all these years of living in the city, I’ve had my fair share of muddled cocktails. One of our favorite spots to eat is Cascabel Taqueria. Fatima’s favorite marg is there watermelon basil margaritas.
Watermelon on its own is delicious. But when you combine it with other things, its flavor doesn’t come through because it’s watermelon. You need to add a little sugar to bring out the watermelon flavor. With recipe, I made a basil-thyme simple syrup. I didn’t want the basil to be in-your-face. Using the same technique to make the ginger simple syrup in the Rosemary Ginger Margaritas we made a syrup for this. About a half a cup of roughly torn basil is enough. Make this simple syrup about an hour ahead of time. You’ll need a few minutes to bring to a boil and let it sit for at least 30 minutes to meld the flavors. Once you have the simple syrup made, it will last you for your future batches, so you only need to make this once.
The base recipe for these watermelon basil margaritas is a classic shaken margarita. So use that recipe to build up your own flavored margaritas. These would also be fantastic frozen. However, we’ll have to go back to the bar to figure that one out.
Watermelon Basil Margaritas
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 1–2 margaritas 1x
- Category: Cocktails
Ingredients
Simple Syrup
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 sugar
- 1/2 cup roughly torn basil
- 1 sprig of thyme
Margarita
- 2 shots silver tequila
- 1 shot triple sec
- 1 shot lime juice
- 1 shot basil-thyme simple syrup
- 1 cup cubed watermelon, blended until smooth
- Ice for your glass
- Ice for shaking
Instructions
Simple Syrup
- Add all ingredients to a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, remove from heat and let sit for 30 minutes.
- After the syrup cools, strain the liquid into a jar.
Margarita
- Fill a shaker with ice.
- Add tequila, triple sec, lime juice, 1 shot of the basil-thyme simple syrup, and your blended watermelon.
- Shake it up.
- Pour into an ice-filled glass.
- Garnish with a slice of watermelon and cool off.
Notes
The majority of the cooking and prep time goes to making the simple syrup. This simple syrup will last you multiple drinks. The yield is specifically referencing the margarita itself (the alcohol).
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