Greetings, Wonketeers! I’m Hooper, your bartender. Summer is in full swing in Ohio — the days are warm, the nights are cool, and the mint plant is threatening to devour the yard. It’s mojito season. Berries and mint go together like houses, so let’s add some strawberries to the classic for added complexity and sweetness. Time to make a Strawberry Mojito — here’s the recipe:
2 oz Bacardi Superior Rum
1/2 oz fresh lime juice
1 oz Smuckers Strawberry Seedless fruit preserves
1 oz rich simple syrup
2-3 fresh strawberries
4-5 fresh mint leaves
Soda water
Add rum, lime juice, fruit preserves, strawberries, and mint to a cocktail shaker. Muddle until the leaves and strawberries are smashed, but not pulp. Add 2-3 ice cubes. Shake until your cocktail shaker is cold. Double strain into a highball glass. Add crushed ice and soda water to fill the glass. Garnish with a mint sprig and strawberry.
The history of this Cuban cocktail is, to put it mildly, convoluted. One story claims that Sir Francis Drake invented the drink to cure a dire case of scurvy when stranded in Cuba. As much as I love a good pirate story, there’s no evidence that Drake ever lowered anchor in Cuba, never mind got drunk there. That said, there is a very rustic version of the mojito called the El Draque. It uses cahaca as opposed to a more well-behaved spirit. I enjoy it, but I can’t recommend this hojo-laden funky drink to the Wonketariat. There’s also a tale that it was created by the native South Americans. A dozen bars have made the same claim over the past century. The written record tells us the drink first originated in Sloppy Joe’s Bar, a famous Cuban watering hole. The mojito recipe from Sloppy Joe’s bar book is pretty much identical to the modern mojito you’re served today, right down to the Bacardi rum.
Some classics don’t need to change to fit modern tastes. On the other hand, change can be a good thing. Fruit and mint are a natural combination, so using fresh berries in a mojito is a knockout. Berries by themselves are rarely sweet enough to make a balanced drink, so I’m using some simple syrup to balance the tart strawberries. Experiment and taste as you make this. Adjust the sugar as needed. Keep the lessons we talked about with the daiquiri in mind. This is your drink; make it as sweet or tart as you like.
The fruit preserves sweeten the cocktail and add more mouthfeel to the drink. More importantly, they add some needed color. Muddled fruit provides a very pale pink at best. The color and appearance of a drink matter as much as its flavor.
The biggest sin you can commit with this cocktail is over-muddling the mint and berries. You don’t need to reduce the mint leaves to pulp or the berries to mush. Break them apart enough to release the mint oil and strawberry juice. Anything more than that is overkill, and increases your chance of getting gunk into your cocktail.
Let’s talk ingredients:
Bacardi Superior: It’s hard to escape the pull of this Puerto Rican rum when it comes to Cuban classics like the mojito. Avoid the flavored versions of Bacardi for this drink, however. I have no idea what Bacardi uses to impart fruit flavoring to the rum, which makes me nervous. Stick to the classics.
Lime juice: Fresh as always. Half a lime should provide enough juice for this cocktail.
Rich simple syrup: 1 part water, 2 parts sugar, heated until the sugar melts. Keeps for weeks in the fridge — a great cocktail kitchen staple.
Smuckers All Fruit: You can use different berries for this drink as you see fit; blueberries would be great here. Blackberries and even bing cherries might be good here as well; use your favorite. Do use a seedless fruit preserve; straining seeds from your cocktail is no fun.
Fresh strawberries: The fresher, the better. In fact, this is a good place to use those not-very-pretty berries lurking at the bottom of the container. It depends on the fruit, but you may well need the preserves to provide the color a guest is expecting in a fruit cocktail. Muddled strawberries provide very little color to the glass.
Mint: Use some moderation. It’s tempting to fight the plant devouring your yard, but too much mint will make the drink taste vegetal. Greg from How to Drink, bless his heart, took one for the team and experimented with other herbs in the mojito. Basil mojito? Great! Rosemary mojito? Ick. Dill-ito? No. Just … no.
Soda Water: We’ve got a lot of flavors cooking in this glass. Some soda to lengthen and dilute the drink is welcome.
Garnishes: The mint is absolutely vital. The scent of fresh mint defines a mojito more than the muddled herb. The strawberry is nice, not strictly necessary, but who doesn’t like a fresh strawberry in summer?
In summary and conclusion, drink well, drink often, and tip your bartender — donate to Wonkette at the link below!
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