For this month’s theme, I took a look at the food menus at Borscht Belt resorts–drink menus are generally more ephemeral or nonexistent and hard to find–and even though the words “melon delight” didn’t appear, I thought they’d fit right in. This drink’s kind of an oddball as far as its construction, but it works and is exceedingly refreshing.

Say what you will about The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, but the episodes that take place in the Catskills are a feast for the eyes and a window into what these Borscht Belt resorts looked like. Though, as you know, I like my martinis with gin and a ratio of 2:1, I wanted to create a dry martini with a strong herbal quality… and a vodka base. The dill infusion works really well here.

After over two and half years of Al’s Cocktail Club, we’re finally making a Bloody Mary! As a veteran of New York brunch services, I am no stranger to this drink and know how beloved they are. I didn’t want to overcomplicate things and I kind of like the idea that one could build this bloody à la minute at their table with a can of tomato juice and condiments. I used the old Fort Defiance bloody mix recipe as my guide.

One of my favorite scenes in Dirty Dancing is when Baby goes to the party the resort staff are having; she enters awkwardly carrying a watermelon and leaves suddenly kind of able to dance?! This simple vodka sour drinks like a Daiquiri, which is exactly what I want when I’ve worked up a sweat dancing to “Cry to Me” by Solomon Burke.

This is the Bloody Mary mix used in our Borscht Belt Bloody from July 2023.