One of my all-time favorite cocktails is the mojito. The classic version, and probably like, every single variation I’ve tasted. I love the mint – adding fresh herbs to drinks just screams summertime to me.
My husband bartends, so of course when he gets home, making fancy drinks is one of the last things he wants to do. I don’t find mojitos hard to make at all, but I suppose it would get tiresome after days of doing it at a quick pace. Anyway – it’s gotten to the point where I actually keep a potted herb garden on the deck so that I have fresh herbs on hand for all my recipes (both dinner, and cocktail).
I’ve gotten pretty good at creating (and re-creating) some of my favorite cocktails, and I’m going to share today how to make the classic mojito. These are also easily made as a mocktail by using 3.5 oz of soda water instead of 2 oz, and leaving out the rum entirely.
- 6-8 large mint leaves (and a sprig or large leaf to garnish)
- 2 lime wedges
- 1.5 oz. rum (I prefer a silver rum, though some say a spiced rum is really good too)
- 2 oz. club soda
- ½ oz. simple syrup
- ½ oz. lime juice
- pinch of sugar
- All right, I said "classic" mojito, and most true recipes call for strictly sugar instead of simple syrup, but I find it blends better with the syrup. You can make it the tru classi way by using about 1 teaspoon of sugar instead, that's up to you. If you don't have simple syrup on-hand, all you have to do to make it is add equal parts of sugar and water to a small saucepan, and heat on low as you stir it, until the sugar dissolves. It takes less than 5 minutes.
- Now on to the drink. Squeeze your lime wedges into the bottom of a highball glass, and toss them in. Add your mint leaves, and gently muddle them. You only want to put enough pressure on to release the flavor, while keeping the leaves intact if possible (because if they clog your straw, that's just sad). Add ice to your glass.
- Add rum, syrup, and lime juice to a shaker tin, and shake over ice until blended. Add ice to the glass, and pour this combination in. Add a pinch of sugar, and top with 2 oz club soda.
- Stir, garnish with a sprig of mint and/or a lime wedge, and enjoy!
So I’m curious – do you have a favorite summertime drink?
This is the most basic mojito dish that every summer should have.
This is my favourite. So easy and very yummy.