You heard me right. I was messing around with pure leaf tea, and chanced a cocktail that screamed of summer: fresh brewed iced tea and watermelon. It is refreshing and light and watermelon forward. It worked. Here is how you too can imbibe on a bit of summer:

Watermelon Tea Cocktail

Vodka watermelon Pure Leaf Tea (sweetened)

Put a large wedge of watermelon in your blender---roughly 1 cup of watermelon flesh. Add a hearty splash of tea, maybe 1/4 cup worth and puree. Strain through a fine mesh strainer, then add the watermelon 'juice' to a cocktail shaker with ice and vodka. In the shaker, aim for 2/3 watermelon juice, 1/3 vodka. Shake to chill and strain into [chilled] martini glasses. A taste of summer!

I have great affection for Pure Leaf Tea. They invited me to the Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Derby May 2012. How could I not love Pure Leaf tea in Kentucky's horse-hat-bourbon-betting context? I fell in love with mint juleps and decided to salute Pure Leaf with my own tea-inspired cocktail. I will be making it again and again.