Summer may be winding down, but it’s still plenty hot outside. There’s nothing more refreshing on a hot summer day than watermelon. So today we’re taking our favorite summer treat, adding a pinch of salt, and transforming it into our new favorite frozen drink: a Frozen Salted Watermelon Margarita.  – Andrew

Illustration by Shauna Lynn for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Frozen Salted Watermelon Margarita

2 oz Silver Tequila
3/4 oz Light Agave Syrup
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Curaçao Orange Liqueur
1 pinch Sea Salt
1-2 cups Watermelon Ice Cubes

Freeze fresh watermelon juice into ice cubes overnight. In a blender, blend the ice cubes into a slushy mix. Slowly add in the Tequila, agave syrup, lime juice, Curaçao, and salt. Start with a cup of ice and add more as needed while blending. You have reached the right consistency once the Margarita has started folding back into itself in big, pillowy piles. Pour into a chilled glass, throw in a straw, and enjoy!

The key to frozen drinks is texture. You want a drink that has a consistent, silky texture. If your ice is too chunky, you’ll end up drinking up all your drink and leave a mound of bare ice. If your ice is too chopped up, you’ll end up with a watery mess. Hence the watermelon ice: we wanted to add the bright burst of flavor that comes with fresh juice without watering down the drink. Freezing the watermelon juice lets you add all that flavor without compromising on texture.

Salt is a something you can add (in very small doses) to a wide array of cocktails. Salt can variously help bind flavors together or help certain flavors pop in a drink. Here, the salt really helps brighten both the earthy, vegetal Tequila and the freshness of the watermelon.

Cold suppresses our sense of taste, which is why ice cream has so much sugar in it – you really need to pump up the flavors as you lower the temperature. So this Margarita bumps down the sour lime just a bit while throwing in a bit more sweetness: more agave syrup and Curaçao that you’d normally see in a Margarita, plus the sweetness of the watermelon juice. We played around with different kinds of agave syrup here, and we found that light agave really works best – a raw, dark agave syrup, while wonderful, can weigh this recipe down.

Ok. Enough talk. Time to drink one of these.

(Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, where we’ve been posting our experiments before they make their way onto this column!)

Glassware by Liquorary

Photo Credits: Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper