"Watermelon is such a mild flavor it needs strong support to come through. To me its essence is "red plus green"—like strawberries and cucumber—so my favorite watermelon drinks have an element of both. Here, Lillet Rose covers the red, herbal Shiso liqueur the green, while mezcal's melony character ties it together. Watermelon drinks always have big “main character energy” in that they are dependable crushers and are among the top sellers on any cocktail menu. So I started naming watermelon drinks after songs that had similar energy: top-down, riding-around-in-the-sunshine summer bangers. “Teenage Anarchist,” a song from Against Me’s 2011 album White Crosses, has that energy combined with a subversive metatextual angle to the lyrics that made it seem weirdly appropriate for a drink designed to get DTLA party people to slam pink coupes full of producer mezcal." —MB