There's nothing like a southern California evening, especially when it's spent with good friends old and new! I'm always inspired when I'm in California, the produce is so fresh and it's impossible not to buy too much of it at any one time. The fruit found in San Diego during this time of year is just beyond compare. Then, when a couple of bottles of my favorite summer (well anytime!) cocktail, Skyy Spirits Xrated Fusion Liqueur arrived on my doorstep, I could no longer resist and we decided that it was time to throw a cocktail party for some very special friends!

For any of you who've never tried it, XRated Fusion Vodka is one of the most elegantly blended aperatifs that I've ever had. Created from a decadent mix of French vodka blended with rich blood oranges, mango and passion fruit , XRated Fusion is absolutely delicious by itself over ice, shaken with an infusion vodka or mixed with a bit of peach juice to create a drink that mimics the color of the loveliest Southern California sunset!

That evening our meal was was based on all of the incredible things that I'd bought from the farmers market, so we started our Bacchanalian feast with fresh melon with prosciutto and perfectly ripened cheeses from Venisimo in Del Mar. The next course was a fresh watermelon soup , spiked with a bit of sea salt, sparkling prossecco , fresh jalapeno and served in the little watermelon shells that we'd scooped the flesh from. Dinner was a grilled chicken and mango salad , served with tender ears of fresh spring sweet corn and our dessert were perfect wraps of rice paper filled with almond butter, plum and basil and served with a chocolate dipping sauce. Everything was delicious, but what really stole the evening were the cocktails! I've promised my husband that for our California parties I'll never be without a bottle or two of XRated! He like everyone else that evening fell madly under it's spell!

XRated Fusion Liqueur is wonderful blended with many different combinations of fruit and juice, but what we served that evening was incredible! If you can find the petite Cavaillon melons the flavor will be well worth the price. Better yet, start a little garden and grow your own!

Chill down a nice bottle of Cava (Freixenet makes a good one!) and in a blender place about 1 cup of ice, the cubed flesh of one Cavaillon melon or 1/3 of a Cantaloupe, 2 cups of Xrated Fusion Liqueuer, 1/2 cup of St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur, 2 tablespoons of amber agave nectar and a 1 cup of peach juice. Blend on high until frothy and pour into large balloon glasses, filling each goblet 2/3rds full. Open the well chilled Cava and top off the cocktails. Garnish each one with a skewer of rosemary that you've threaded with several pieces of melon or a wedge of blood orange and serve.

I hope that you're enjoying yourselves this summer and as always have fun , but please remember to drink responsibly!