Jance Pickle Watermelon & Honey Margarita

Jance Pickle Watermelon & Honey Margarita is a mini honey version of a Tommy’s Margarita using Jance Honey Spirit soured with watermelon shrub, sweetened with honey syrup spiced with cinnamon and garnished with quick pickles made from the watermelon rind - an exercise in how to use up as much of the watermelon as possible for a more sustainable cocktail, while showing the floral and spicy character of Jance Honey Spirit. Inspired by the Tommy’s Margarita recipe of Bartender Julio Bermejo of Tommy’s Restaurant, San Fransisco, that highlights the character of 100% agave tequila, calling only for tequila, lime, and agave syrup. This Jance Honey Spirit Margarita brings the floral, honey and spicy notes of 100% Honey Jance Honey Spirit to the fore – accentuating these with a spicy fruity sweet-sour Watermelon Shrub Syrup and Watermelon Rind Quick Pickle spiced with chilli and cinnamon, sweetened with a Cinnamon Honey Syrup. This is a small serve cocktail packed with flavour – delicious floral and honey notes, savoury, sweet, spicy, fruity and delicious.

Ingredients

½ oz. Watermelon Shrub Syrup (see recipe below)
1 barspoon Rich Cinnamon Honey Syrup (see recipe below)
1 oz. Jance Honey Spirit
Garnish: Half watermelon shrub syrup pink salt rim (see method below), watermelon rind quick pickle (see recipe below)

Method

Prepare a sherry or small cocktail glass by using a basting brush to apply shrub syrup to half the glass rim and carefully rolling in pink salt flakes. Add Honey Watermelon Shrub, Rich Honey Syrup and Jance Honey Spirit to a cocktail shaker with ice and shake and strain into a prepared glass. Garnish with Watermelon Rind Quick Pickle.

Watermelon Shrub Syrup

Makes about 300mls
1 ½ cups Watermelon Fruit, cubed (reserve watermelon rind for making pickles)
¾ cup Raw Sugar
½tspn Chilli Flakes
1 Cinnamon Stick
150mls Coconut Nectar Vinegar
Add watermelon, sugar and spices to a nonreactive container and macerate in the fridge overnight or until a thick syrup has formed. Meanwhile, sterilise your jar. Wash jar and lid with hot soapy water and rinse well. Place jar on a baking sheet in a 110 C oven for 15 minutes or until dry. Place lid in a pan of water on the stove top and boil for 5 minutes and then air dry. Next, strain the syrup from the fruit using a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl. Pour coconut vinegar through sieve over fruit to remove any trapped sugar from fruit. Decant into a sterile glass jar and refrigerate. Use within 3-4 days (for preserving, substitute a higher acidity vinegar such as Champagne or White Wine Vinegar).

Tip: If you have leftover watermelon fruit – cut this into small cubes and use to make Paletas or ice blocks by combining with fresh lime and orange juice in a blender and then freezing in ice block containers.

Rich Cinnamon Honey Syrup

Makes about 100mls
75grms (about ¼ cup) Honey
37.5grms (about 2tbspns + 1tspn) Water
1 Cinnamon Stick
Add honey, water and cinnamon to a small pan and heat over low heat, stirring until honey has melted. Cool, decant into a clean glass container and refrigerate.

Tip: Measure honey and water by weight using a kitchen scale – weigh one part water to two parts honey.

Watermelon Rind Quick Pickle

Makes 750ml Jar
750grms Watermelon Rind
1tbspn Salt
1 small knob Ginger, sliced
1tspn Pink Pepper
1tspn Chilli Flakes
2 Star Anise
Cinnamon Stick
160mls Apple Cider Vinegar
80mls Water
64grms Raw Sugar
Wash and peel watermelon rind and cut into 2cm lengths, add to a nonreactive container and sprinkle with salt. Store in the fridge overnight. Meanwhile, sterilise your jar. Wash jar and lid with hot soapy water and rinse well. Place jar on a baking sheet in a 110 C oven for 15 minutes or until dry. Place lid in a pan of water on the stove top and boil for 5 minutes and then air dry. Drain water from watermelon rind. Pack sterile jar with spices (except cinnamon stick) and watermelon rind. Make a brine with vinegar, water, and sugar in a saucepan on low heat, stir to dissolve sugar. Top watermelon rind and spices with hot brine and anchor rind under brine with cinnamon stick. Apply the lid. Cool and then refrigerate. Lasts up to 2 months in the fridge.

Recipe & photography by peck of pickles | Kate Ireland