On a recent trip to Costa Rica I had some magical watermelon margaritas. The fruit there was out of this world and I took every available opportunity to mix my booze with fresh fruit juice. My first drink there was a watermelon marg and it was love at first sip. Using fresh juice in a cocktail makes a huge difference and it’s super easy – especially if you have an immersion blender. You can use any juice you like here – I’ve done blood orange juice and grapefruit juice. Make it spicy by muddling in some jalapeno and adding chili powder to your salt rim.  Puree peaches, strawberries, mangoes – the sky’s the limit here. Enjoy your weekend!

Watermelon Margaritas 

• 2 cups watermelon chunks, seeded
• 4 oz. tequila
• 1 oz. Cointreau
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• Ice cubes
• Salt, optional
• 2 lime wedges

Using an immersion blender puree the watermelon chunks. In a cocktail shaker (or in my case a plastic soup container – works great!) combine tequila, Cointreau, lime juice and watermelon juice. Shake vigorously. Salt your glasses if you like using a lime wedge to moisten the rim. Ice your glasses and pour the drink into glasses. Garnish with lime wedge if desired.