A Nostalgic Summer Watermelon Drink With An Adult Twist — Just Add Vodka

If you ever cut a hole in a watermelon and filled the entire melon with vodka as a college student, this refreshing, adult version is right up your alley. It's time to graduate from alcohol-spiked fruit and boozy jello shots to a grown-up summer slushie made from frozen watermelon and vodka. Out of all the best watermelon cocktail recipes for summer sipping, this simple blended and boozy beverage might be the most refreshing yet.

Making a watermelon vodka slush drink is actually fairly straightforward, but it does require a decent amount of time to freeze. There are two ways to approach this frosty summertime beverage. You could cut up a ripe watermelon into chunks, spread those chunks on a baking tray and place them in the freezer until frozen, then blend those frozen watermelon chunks with vodka until you've achieved your desired slush consistency. Using vodka that's been chilled in the freezer helps keep the drink colder. If you like your frozen drinks a little more diluted, you could use fresh watermelon chunks combined with a cup of ice instead of the frozen watermelon chunks. Or, if you're out of time or patience, you could use store-bought fresh watermelon juice and combine that with ice and vodka instead.

Some recipes call for additional sugar, but if you use a watermelon in peak summertime season, the melon is likely sweet enough. But if you do prefer a sweeter drink, a tablespoon or two of sugar or honey wouldn't hurt. You could also swap half of the amount of vodka for Prosecco or another sweeter sparkling wine.

When choosing a watermelon to use for the slushie, be sure to remove the seeds to avoid any funky texture or black specks in your drink, as even some seedless watermelons can contain the occasional black seed. To complement the watermelon, you could serve the blended drink with a sprig of mint and a lime wedge on top. If you're looking for a bit more depth of flavor, blend mint or basil leaves directly into the slushie along with a generous squeeze of lime juice to bring some balance into the beverage.

Vodka has a fairly neutral taste when blended with the watermelon, making this a perfect summer beverage for those who don't love the taste of alcohol, as the sweetness of the watermelon, as well as the overall chilled temperature of the frosty drink, both mellow out vodka's sharp bite. If vodka really isn't your thing but you still want a bold and refreshing cocktail, you could try making a watermelon slushie with white rum or tequila, which would be reminiscent of a watermelon margarita. While the season is still in full swing and watermelons are in peak season, try these other watermelon recipes to use during peak summer freshness.