Tiki Month’s Final: The King And All His Melons

This is another Tiki drink without any rum. However, what it lacks in rum, it makes up for in more than one way! I don’t even know where to start: it is a complex composition of brandy, sherry and melons. Yes you have read correctly: melons and they are not even the best part! So, join me for this grand finale of Tiki Month 2015!

Inspired by Frankfurt’s finest

When my boss and I were invited to a Glenfiddich tasting in Frankfurt, we visited the Parlour, a famous bar. I had a great drink that contained sherry, white wine and melon juice and was topped off with Cremant. It was really delicious, but also a bit weired, which might have had something to do with the way the drink was served. It came in a small transparent plastic bucket and was garnished with a little plastic sombrero and a cocktail umbrella. Nevertheless, I was so fascinated by its taste that I wanted to create my own version of the cocktail.

A few improvements

Since, the drink had a Tiki vibe to it I decided to embrace it by making the drink a bit stronger. So I switched out the white wine for some Spanish brandy. Instead of topping it up with Cremant I went for some good old Other Champagne drinks on Augustine-Bar, because let’s face it: everything is better with Champagne!

Apples and Oranges…

The one thing I was not so sure about was the melon. First, I wanted to use water melons, but I could only get honeydew melons instead. As it turns out my worries that the honeydew melon would yield not enough juice, were unfounded: all melons seem to result in a lot of liquid when being blended. The only thing you have to watch out for is the ripeness of the melon: You do not want the adamant ones, but of course you should not buy the squashy ones, either.

Top off with Lanson Black Label Champagne
Add the ingredients to a shaker – try the mix – add a little more simple syrup if needed – shake – add ice cubes to chilled Tiki glass – fill half with Champagne – strain drink into glass;
Garnish: Cocktail Umbrella – candied melon – lemon twist;
Song: Wolf Gang – The King And All His Men

*Melon Juice:

Peel half a melon – remove the seeds – put melon into blender and blend at high speed until liquid – fill into carafe;

Slow but steady melon taste

The first thing you will notice about this drink is the fizziness and taste of the champagne. After a short while the mixture of fruity notes and acidity becomes more prominent. However, it takes the melon aroma a bit to get through, but when the cocktails gets warmer and more diluted it becomes stronger and stronger. The same thing applies to the nuttiness of the sherry. The Brandy is just there to give the drink a proper backbone and because it is made from the same raw material as the sherry, both tastes are inseparably linked. And what can I say? Although this drink again does not contain rum, it still is a proper Tiki drink! I quite enjoyed it and it contains champagne after all… How can it get even better?