You know what I did today?
Zip, nada, nothing… well I made awesome bacon ice cream but that’s another
post… I chilled around the pool, worked on my tan and played teenage romance counselor
(which is by the way quite exhausting).
I believe every truly relaxing moment is enhanced by a good drink, but
as a dedicated wine drinker my options for hot weather are somewhat
limited.
I didn’t become an exclusively wine drinker by choice, I
hate beer, and my teenage years have left me with profound hate of straight up
hard liquor of any kind. Too many nights
have spent praying to porcelain god and now I can only tolerate the smell of tequila
if I am cooking with it (by the way it makes a nice lime and tequila
sauce). I am not a fan of mixed drinks,
the sweet ones make me feel like I am twelve, the stiff ones are too harsh and
anything with an umbrella in it is just silly…
It would make for a sad story of girl who could not get drunk
by the pool if it was not for one perfect mojito that has changed my life. I still remember the first time I tried it,
sitting in an outdoor bar in the Wynn hotel
in Las Vegas. The terrace overlooked
those beautiful Wynn waterfalls, Vegas sun was hot and the bar was open. When my mojito was being made it looked too beautiful
to drink. Fresh limes and mint leaves
dancing in around the ice cubes. Bits of
turbinado sugar like little crunchy crystals popping in your mouth with the
fizz of seltzer… Not too sweet, not too harsh, fresh and crisp…I could drink
this all day, I thought. But after two I
felt my legs wobble a bit, this drink had enough punch to actually make a dent…
I found my one and only perfect cocktail.
Having an abundance of mint in my garden and enough citrus
to cure the plague on hand, I decided to make today my mojito day… As wonderful
as the classic is there is always room for a little experimentation.
Almost classic Lemon and Lime Mojito.
Almost classic because real mojito does not have lemon in
it. Limes are indigenous to the Caribbean
islands so a classic is made with just lime.
I like the addition of lemon; it gives the drink some floral notes and
some natural sweetness.
1 small lime cut up
½ lemon cut up
2 tsp of turbinado sugar
5-6 leaves of fresh mint ( plus more for garnish)
2 oz of Bacardi rum
4 oz of seltzer
Ice
Combine lemon, lime, mint and sugar in a glass and mash with
a pestle or a wooden spoon. Add ice, rum
and seltzer and more fresh mint…
A grapefruit mojito
Substitute lemon for pink grapefruit and 2 oz of fresh squeezed
grapefruit juice for a part of the seltzer
A Pimms mojito
Now this one is a bit of a cheat… Pimms is that one great
thing that comes from the right side of the pond, how the hell the Brits came
up with a summer cocktail mix while having no summer, beats me. When I was first introduced to it I was told
it is to be enjoyed with lemonade while picnicking or boating (insert your best
imagination of the British accent here).
I can just picture brightly dressed crowds picnic basket and Pimms cup
in hand shivering under their umbrellas and discussing weather in the best of
the English tradition.
Pimms is very sweet so no need to
add sugar to this one.
1 small lime cut up
½ lemon cut up
5-6 leaves of fresh mint ( plus more for garnish)
3 oz of Pimms
3 oz of seltzer
Ice
As you can imagine after all these mojitos I was quite
relaxed… How does it go? One mojito, two
mojito…fall asleep on the desk with an unlikely partner?
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