The Pearl Harbor

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Sometimes you want to serve your guests something special, but don’t want to go to a lot of trouble making it.  In that case, surprise them with a Pearl Harbor.

The Pearl Harbor is a cocktail nominally made with 1/2 oz vodka, 1/2 oz melon liqueur, and pineapple juice as a lengthener.  Build on ice but there is certainly no need to shake; not even much reason to stir.

Midori Melon Liqueur is the way you want to go if you want to be kind of a snob, but it doesn’t taste all that much like melon—although it’s made in Japan, which I suppose is in keeping with the theme.  I found Leroux Melon Liqueur a better choice.

Given that Pearl Harbor got bombed, it seemed reasonable to give one's guests the same opportunity, so I adjusted the recipe to increase the vodka to 1 1/2 oz, and since you (presumably) want the melon liqueur to be prominent, I ramped that up to 1 oz.  Which makes the pineapple juice less “forward.”

Because pineapple juice is involved, a pineapple garnish is reasonable.  But given that you want to emphasize the melon liqueur, I prefer a watermelon garnish.

For your guests who don’t drink, a good alternative to a Pearl Harbor is an Arizona Iced Tea.



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