As part of a variety of refreshments we provided at an 80th birthday party this past weekend, we had a watermelon keg. It received rave reviews and a lot of attention.

Combining the watermelon with alcohol was inspired by the birthday boy’s tale of working at a summer resort in Wisconsin back in the 1950s. The resort staff had Saturday nights off because guests arrived on Sundays and left on Saturdays. One of the common activities was to fill a watermelon with vodka and head to the beach. So, it seemed very appropriate to include a watermelon libation for the birthday celebration.

Lucky for us, we had the convenience of a specially made tap. We got our “3-piece Watermelon Keg Tapping Kit” at a store for about $15. But, there are also instructions online explaining how you could build your own.

Scooping out our watermelon and installing the tap was handled by a PhD chemist and a software engineer and even they managed to get the job done. Meanwhile, a couple of us got our hands very dirty picking the seeds out of the watermelon guts before pulverizing them with an immersion blender. I’d argue that picking out the seeds was the worst part of the entire process.

We combined our watermelon guts with vodka and champagne per a recipe found online. A simple search of the internet can provide many different recipes to use, but since the 1950s watermelon had vodka, that seemed appropriate for us too.

Once assembled and filled, the watermelon keg was a conversation piece and a dispenser of a tasty drink for a very hot day. I’m recommend it for anyone looking for something special for a summer party.