Cocktail Notes || EP. 11 “Watermelon Man", by Herbie Hancock || Watermelon Cooler

Happy New Years! I will be starting off the year with a month long tribute to hits by Herbie Hancock. His songs played an important role during my early journey into music. During high school, we would often turn to these funk/rock/jazz fusion songs because they were beginner friendly and had a good groove to them. I actually didn’t play “Watermelon Man” that much during high school. “Chameleon” and “Cantaloupe Island” were my go-to songs during that time. “Watermelon Man” has now become one of my favorite jam songs. It was an easy way to kick off this new year. The songs coming up were much more challenging to perform!

I paired the “Watermelon Cooler” cocktail with this song. It is similar to a gin rickey since it has lime and soda water, but has the addition of watermelon in it. It’s a refreshing drink, probably not the best choice for a chilly winter night. The “Watermelon Cooler” is definitely an easy sipper. Making the drink turned out to be surprisingly challenging. Though there weren’t any advanced techniques, the drink ended up taking longer to make than the music performance itself (even when edited down). Garnishing the drink at the end was a mess as well. After a few tries, I finally got a recorded take of the drink I was happy with. I would make this drink again once the weather gets warmer. Next time, however, I would make sure to figure out a simpler way to garnish the drink. Cheers!

[January 7th, 2021]