When we were in Puerto Rico there was a young woman making mojitos from a cart on the street.
She used what looked like a small baseball bat to squish key limes, sugar cane, and Bacardi rum right in front of us.
In the heat of the island sun, we were drinking them as fast as she was producing them.
Almost faster.
Sure, it’s perfectly acceptable to drink them all year round, but mojitos always remind us of that trip….
….and summer.
Here’s everything you need to make mojitos at home:
- Fresh Mint (Plant Some, it’s like a Weed)
- Sugar
- Limes
- A Big Mason Jar (Don’t Waste Money on a Cocktail Shaker)
- A Wooden Muddler (Invest in One of These Instead)
- White Rum – Bacardi, Preferably
- Club Soda
Add a dozen, or so, mint leaves to your Mason jar.
Juice 2 limes on top of the mint, and then add the rinds – loosely chopped.
Add 2 heaping teaspoons of sugar.
Then a splash of club soda.
Now use the muddler to “muddle” the mint and limes. Just push down gently and crush everything a few times. This really releases the mint and lime oils.
Now pour in 4 ounces, or maybe a little more, of white rum.
Put the lid tightly on your Mason jar and give everything a good shake.
We have an auto-matic ice maker built into the refrigerator, but these silicone ice trays were too good of an idea to pass up.
I add a few mint leaves to each one……wait a few hours……
…and we have mint-flavored ice cubes.
Perfect squares too.
Fill a couple of glasses with those square, mint ice cubes, pour over the muddled mint/lime/rum mixture……then top off with chilled club soda.
If you aren’t already on a Caribbean island…..
………you’ll feel just like you are.
Happy Summer Cocktail, y’all.
THE CAVENDER DIARY 
I don’t drink alcoholic beverages, but I’m already thinking of how I can achieve the look of your last photo because it looks like the epitomy of summer!
You can still make them without the rum……Trust me, they are as refreshing as they look
I love mojitos and think this recipe will be a hit…using the lime rinds is so smart not to too waste anything! I introduced a friend to your Basil- Grapefruit cocktail this last weekend and she loved it! I’ll have her over for mojitos next! Thanks!
June, those basil-Grapefruit coolers are the best….I planted a huge basil plant in the flower bed so we can make them all summer. Glad we can keep you …..”Well Lubricated” heheh
I love square ice cubes
Same here….perfect little cubes.
Yum!
Yumm is right , Debbie!!!
My husband and I drank Mojitos our entire honeymoon. They remind us of a warm, beach! We will totally be making these 🙂
Sounds like a perfect honeymoon! Were y’all somewhere tropical?
My husband and I drank Mojitos our entire honeymoon! They remind of a relaxing beach. I can’t wait to try this recipe out 🙂
Where did you find your bat muddler?
http://www.surlatable.com/product/PRO-1378496/Mr.+Mojito+Maple+Muddler, Sur la Table , of course, they have everything
In the Lesser Antilles further south they use all club soda with no rum and call them lime squashes. Delicious.. .. we used to drink them whenever my folks took us out to dinner in St Lucia (just south of Martinique, west of Barbados) where we had a winter house.
We’ve been to St. Lucia!!! Beautiful island…..jealous that y’all had a house there! Pretty sure there is plenty of rum on that island to add to drinks! Hehe
Yes indeed James. The rum punch was divine. They used Barbados Mount Gay Eclipse. As a teenager we were introduced to the local equivalent of moonshine, rum as strong as grain alcohol but they don’t have that at the hotels. . .one cocktail with that and you need a cab.
We had rum punch on St Lucia……I can’t seem to make it the same way as the locals.I’ll try the Mt Gay Eclipse (been to that factory on Barbados too) ……and now I want to try some of that moonshine rum. Who am I kidding? At this point, I just want to be on an island…hehe (Key West in 2 months…woohoo)
1 part lime juice, 2 parts simple syrup, 3 parts rum and 4 of water. Chill in fridge. Pour in glasses & grate a bit of fresh nutmeg over the top. Delish! (Recipe all the barkeeps used down there back in the day)
Sounds Delish…can’t wait to try this….
Love the photography for this post!! 🙂
Thanks Kate! Been working on trying new photo techniques. Jamie has the patience of a Saint to take all of those of me……..took so long that the ice kept melting…….
Oh, wow, thanks for this! My daughter and I perfected the Mint Julep for her wedding which was on May 3 (Derby Day) in Charleston, and that’s been our summer drink up to now, but I loved this! I even bought a gorgeous wooden muddler from Etsy…
OOOh Amber, I love Juleps! especially with Sonic Ice!!! They are one of the few great drinks that can just be casually “sipped”……So refreshing in the summer.
I hope you served them in silver julep cups, Charleston society ladies have old-school rules about such things…..
Well, there weren’t a lot of society matrons there, just us yahoos, haha, but yes, indeed, I’m funny that way – it’s not a real Julep unless it’s in a silver cup! I’m definitely going to try the sonic ice, and also your basil-grapefruit cocktail…
I love your mojito recipe & the ice cube idea. After reading this I am off to the store to buy everything to make this. LOVE LOVE mojitos.
Same here!!!! Perfect refreshing drink…Go get your Mojito on!!!!