How To Make A Refreshing Watermelon Shandy With Just 3 Ingredients

Germans call it a "radler," the French call it "panaché," and the English call it a "shandy" — whatever you call it, it's a mixed drink of beer and fruit juice. In the 19th century, Charles Dickens included the shandy in one of his stories and, according to Merriam-Webster, said at one point that it was the perfect "alliance between beer and pop." And it really is! Traditionally, shandies are made with a pale lager and lemonade or ginger ale, but there are endless ways to transform this recipe. You can make your own watermelon shandy at home with only three ingredients: watermelon, a beer of choice, and vanilla syrup.

You can use a juicer or put the sliced watermelon chunks into a blender. Drain the blended liquid through a fine-mesh strainer to separate the juice from the pulp and any seeds. Pour into a chilled glass mug with ½ ounce pump of vanilla syrup and top it off with the beer. You'll want to create a 50/50 ratio between the watermelon juice and the beer when you combine them for the best of both worlds. Go ahead and stick in one of those tiny cocktail straws — you don't have to travel far for a sip of summertime with this fruity drink.

While our recipe works great with a wheat beer or pale lager, you can change the drink to fit your preference, including substituting the beer for a citrus-flavored hard cider or hard lemonade. If you want to switch to a non-alcoholic version, try using ginger beer (most are alcohol-free). Or if more alcohol content is in order, add curaçao or a shot of rum, which is made from fermented sugarcane juice, for extra sweetness.

You can even make your drink extra zesty. Blend in a little lemon, lime, grapefruit, or pineapple juice for a sour kick that will take your shandy back to its roots. You can still keep our recipe to three ingredients without having to use vanilla syrup. Agave nectar, mint syrup, simple syrup, honey syrup, and grenadine will all add a depth of flavor to your shandy. If fresh watermelon isn't in season, you can swap the fruit for watermelon Italian ice to create a frosty shandy.

No matter what you've got in your fridge or behind the bar, there's a high chance you can conjure up a quick cocktail. Shandies are an easy drink to mix when you're low on groceries because of their versatility and cost-effectiveness. Cheers to leveling up beer with this refreshing three-ingredient spin on a British classic.