Something light and sweet for a summer holiday weekend.

I've been working to improve my mixology skills on the off chance that we decide to pack it all in and move to the islands where I'll become a bartender. My repertoire is small, but in the spirit of a subversive Independence Day, here's my recipe for the perfect Mojito.

1½ oz white rum
½ oz fresh lime juice
½ oz granulated sugar
1 oz simple syrup, to taste
several fresh mint leaves
 soda water

Add sugar and lime juice to a highball glass. Muddle a couple of mint leaves into the lime and sugar. Add the rum and simple syrup, stir to mix. Fill the glass with ice and soda water. Garnish with fresh mint leaves.

[Photo]
[Flickr]

Mojito

A full ounce of simple syrup will make a quite sweet Mojito, so I generally use a little less, but the exact amount is a matter of taste and the tartness of the lime.

For an interesting variation, try a Cocojito. Instead of white rum, use coconut rum for a “lime and coconut” twist.

Comments:

For another excellent variation, skip the lime juice and soda water, and use bourbon instead of rum.

For simple syrup, instead of regular granular sugar, there's another kind (less granular than granular sugar, less powdery than powdered sugar) designed specifically to dissolve in liquids. I don't remember what it's called, but in the supermarket the package will have a picture of glasses of iced tea on it.

Posted by Bob DuCharme on 07 Jul 2008 @ 09:58pm UTC #

I'm not sure a Mint Julep fits within the expected bounds of "variation" on a Mojito, but they're tasty too.

The sugar is often called "Bartender's" sugar or simply "super fine" sugar. But I just keep a supply of simple syrup on hand in a squeeze bottle in the fridge. (Thank you, Alton Brown.)

Posted by Norman Walsh on 07 Jul 2008 @ 10:06pm UTC #

Thanks for the recipe!

And, nice tile...Oceanside?

Posted by Michael T on 28 May 2010 @ 10:20pm UTC #
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