5 from 5 reviews

Watermelon Mai Tai Cocktail is a refreshing drink blended with fresh watermelon, white rum, elderflower liqueur, sugar, and lime juice. This tiki cocktail is easy to make with just a few ingredients and is perfect for someone who craves a little sweet fruity delight. Learn below the origins of this tropical cocktail.

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Hello my friends. Today we’re making a gorgeous, red-hued, tropical drink that’s refreshing, aromatic and boozy. Did I say refreshing? Because watermelon is as thirst-quenching as fruit can be. This Watermelon Mai Tai is designed to be sophisticated, but also easy to make because we don’t want you bartending all night. You should be able to enjoy your guests!

Tropical cocktails are all about color, flavor, and creativity, and when you base them in fresh fruit instead of artificial flavorings, you know you’re on the right path.

Let’s break this Watermelon Mai Tai cocktail down

For this cocktail recipe, we’ll be using rum as a base spirit; not only because it’s tasty and boozy, but because it’s also the quintessential tropical drink base, and that’s what we’re looking for. Look for a white rum, but nothing too astringent. Many aged rums are clarified with carbon filters, so they have all the vanilla flavors of an oak-aged rum, but the crystal-clear color of a white rum.

Then we have the St. Germain Liqueur. And if you’ve never tried this sweet liqueur before, you’re in for a treat. St. Germain is a French elderflower liqueur, and according to the company, they use up to 1,000 fresh elderflower blossoms in each bottle. How cool is that? Before you add the flowery liqueur to your cocktails, try it on its own. Close your eyes, and with each sip you’ll be transported to the French countryside in springtime.

We’re also adding a splash of lime juice to our Watermelon Mai Tai, which will balance all the sweetness beautifully.

Finally, the star of the show - watermelon. This Hulk of the fruits is actually 92% water, which is how it gets the name. The sweetness and freshness of the red watermelon pulp complement St. Germain and rum nicely and adds the final touch for a Polynesian-inspired drink you won’t forget easily.

2 large sections of watermelon with 3 cut slices

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Do you know where the Mai Tai was created?

First, the classic Mai Tai is a cocktail based on rum, Curaçao liqueur, orgeat syrup, and lime juice. It is one of the quintessential Tiki cocktails. Most of us think the Mai Tai cocktail was created in the Polynesian islands. But it was created in California, USA. Here are some more details from Wikipedia:

“Victor J. Bergeron claimed to have invented the Mai Tai in 1944 at his restaurant, Trader Vic's, in Oakland, California. Trader Vic's forerunner, Donn Beach, claimed to have instead first created it in 1933, although a longtime colleague said that Beach was actually just alleging that the Mai Tai was based on his Q.B. Cooler cocktail. Don the Beachcomber's recipe is more complex than that of Vic's and some believe tastes quite different. Others believe that despite the difference in ingredients that they taste quite similar.”

“The name was allegedly taken from maita'i, the Tahitian word for "good" or "excellence", although the drink is usually spelled as two words, sometimes hyphenated, or capitalized.”

A tall glass with a Watermelon Mai Tai and in the background two watermelon wedges. Recipe at Spoonabilities.com

Watermelon Mai Tai Cocktail Food Pairings

I really hope you try this Watermelon Mai Tai for your next get-together, and to take your reunion to another level, we should talk about a few cool food pairings. We’re talking summer, right? And we’re talking tropical drinks, so let’s look at some nice appetizers to complement our modern tiki drink.

BBQ chicken pizza is a yummy and speedy dinner choice that you can prepare in a jiffy, and you'll thoroughly enjoy the cooking experience! Give it a shot and get creative with your favorite toppings of choice.
Pan Grilled Shrimp with Roasted Pineapple and Habanero Sauce. Watermelon’s freshness will complement these spicy just-say-summer grilled shrimp, and the flowery St. Germain liqueur will reflect itself on the pineapple flavors.
Southwest Veggie Quesadillas with Cherry Tomato-Avocado Salsa. Fruity cocktails, salsa music and quesadillas will definitely round up the experience. And these are veggie quesadillas, so you can enjoy them guilt-free.

So put your bartending hat on because it’s time to make some summer-perfect Watermelon Mai Tai cocktails. And, if you have some watermelon leftover, you can make:

Share your summer watermelon adventures with us by tagging @Spoonabilities and using the hashtag #Spoonabilities.

Carlos Leo
Your Recipe Concierge!

Watermelon Mai Tai Cocktail

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 5 reviews

Author: Carlos Leo
Total Time: 3 minutes
Yield: 2 1x

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Description

Watermelon Mai Tai Cocktail is a refreshing tropical drink blended with fresh watermelon, white rum, elderflower liqueur, sugar, and lime juice. This easy to make Tiki cocktail is refreshing and has become our go-to summer cocktail.

Ingredients

Units Scale

1 cup cubed watermelon, seedless or seeds removed
3 oz. light white rum
2 oz. St. Germain Elderflower liqueur
1 oz. lime juice
1 Tablespoon superfine sugar
Garnish with a watermelon wedge

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Instructions

Blend: Place the watermelon, rum, St. Germain liqueur, lime juice and superfine sugar in the blender, and blend on high until well blended.
Pour into a tall glass filled with ice, and garnish with a watermelon wedge