They say that necessity is the mother of invention, and in the case of this cocktail, they are right.
On a recent hot summer Saturday afternoon, my husband turned to me and asked, “Can you make frosé?” The answer is of course yes. But at that moment, with no grocery run or preparation? I doubted it. But I was up for the challenge!
Frosé (a portmanteau of “frozen rosé”) was a summer craze back in maybe 2017 (ah, simpler times). It’s usually made with rosé wine, lemon juice, and strawberries in some form. In order to get that slushy texture without too much dilution, the ingredients are frozen and then blended.
On that fateful Saturday, I certainly didn’t have a bottle of rosé in my freezer, and I didn’t have anything strawberry-flavored at all. But I did have a chilled bottle of sparkling rosé and a quarter of a watermelon. It was on. I cut the watermelon into small cubes and spread them out on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. They went in the freezer for 30 minutes. Then I blended them with the rosé and a bit of lime juice. It was quick, easy, and – as it turns out – delicious! The watermelon provides plenty of ice to make the slush, and using sparkling wine instead of still gives it a subtle, delightful fizz. I liked it so much, I knew it was destined for the blog.
The wonderful thing about this fairly haphazard recipe is that there are so many ways you can change it and it will still work. If you only have white sparkling wine, go for it – the watermelon will be plenty pink enough. Lemon would work fine instead of lime. Or instead of simplifying, you could dress it up with some elderflower liqueur, Aperol, or even tequila. Blending in some mint or basil would be delicious. The sky is the limit!
Watermelon Frosé
1/2 bottle (375 oz.) sparkling rosé
5 cups cubed watermelon
Half a lime, juiced
Cut watermelon into cubes and freeze for at least 30 minutes (the smaller your cubes, the faster they will freeze). Add them to a blender along with sparkling rosé and lime juice. Blend until smooth, adding more rosé or watermelon as needed. I garnished mine with fresh basil and coreopsis flowers.