Good spirits: Mixologist Sekani Akunyun shares a recipe for a refreshing summer cocktail
by Asha Ellison | photographs by Jonathan Cooper at Lorem Ipsum Listening Bar
Long before Sekani Akunyun made a name for herself on the Charlotte cocktail scene, she was shaking things up behind a variety of bars. She scooped ice cream in high school, moved on to craft coffees as a barista, and worked her way through college at UNC Greensboro as a server. Then, in 2014, the now-tenured cocktail pro returned to the Queen City, where she catapulted into the world of bartending.
Akunyun credits the fine-tuning of her craft to other cocktail experts she’s worked alongside through the years, namely DiSean Burns — an ambassador for Angel’s Envy whiskey and a leader in Charlotte’s bartending industry. She acknowledges Burns and Justin Hazelton, award-winning owner and lead mixologist of Plaza Midwood listening bar Lorem Ipsum, for fueling her innate creativity and growth behind the bar.
“To say something came easy is so cliche, but it did,” says Akunyun. “I’m the type of person who wants to know how things pair together. I remember asking [DiSean] when I was still in training if we could experiment with putting a cocktail together, and he said, ‘That sounds like it would be good, let’s try it out.’ … This industry is about continuous evolution, and I’m all about learning.”
Mixology marries Akunyun’s curiosity with her personal interests in math, science and the arts.
“Being a bartender is a best-of-both-worlds thing for me,” she says. “I get to be a scientist, use math, and I’m on a different stage everyday.”
Akunyun has worked at bars across Charlotte, from the now-shuttered Weathered Souls to Dram & Draught and Lorem Ipsum. She’s participated in regional cocktail competitions; worked alongside notable chefs Chayil Johnson and Brandon Staton to craft thoughtful, culturally significant spirit-free beverages for their popular History & Homage dinner series; created a pop-up tasting series of her own, Lavender & Libations; and continues to bounce around bars to help her friends in the industry.
“It’s an honor to be trusted with your craft,” she says.
Beyond the technical components of bartending, Akunyun also sees mixology as an immersive art form.
“With visual art, you see everything with your eyes first: a painting, a photograph or a sculpture,” she says. “With food and beverage, you see and you smell everything first. Then, you taste it. And, if you take a picture of the cocktail and post it on social media, it’s definitely art.”
For the home mixologist seeking to create their own cocktail experience and art, Akunyun offers up her watermelon cosmo recipe.
“Cosmos are classic, and summer is all about sipping fresh and staying hydrated,” she says. “And honestly, with us being in the South, this recipe will be good until temps drop in November.” SP
Watermelon Cosmo
Supplies
1 jigger (liquid measure)
1 shaker
1 Hawthorne cocktail strainer
1 fine mesh strainer (optional)
1 muddler
1 chilled glass, preferably a coupe
Ingredients
1 1/2 ounce vodka
1/2 ounce orange liqueur
1/2 ounce lime juice
1/4 ounce simple syrup
3-4 watermelon cubes
Tajín (optional)
Directions
1. Muddle watermelon cubes, then add the rest of the ingredients into a shaker.
2. Add ice to cover the mix, then secure the top of the shaker. Shake hard for about 10 seconds or until the shaker tin is ice cold.
3. Using a Hawthorne strainer (and a fine mesh strainer if you have one), strain into a chilled glass.
4. Optional: Garnish with a skewer of watermelon cubes. Spice it up with a sprinkle of Tajín on the cubes.
Sekani’s tips for making a perfect cocktail
Taste the fruit before making a cocktail. “You may need to add more sugar. It’s important to know what you’re starting with.”
Have confidence. “You can do all of this at home — it’s not rocket science.”
Have your cocktail tools ready, but don’t be afraid to improvise. “Don’t have a shaker? Use a protein shake bottle. Need a muddler? Use the back of a spoon.”
