LUCY BURDETTE: Before visiting Cuba last month, I had never tasted a Mojito, never mind made one. But now it's my new favorite drink. And I think it would be a perfect holiday libation, what with the red and green coloring--red from the bitters, and green from the mint.
First I'll take you on a tour of some of the drinks I tasted (all for your benefit of course, in order to bring you home something spectacular.)
Here was the one that was most perfect:
This one was very good too:
This one took the prize for the most bilious color (though I drank it
anyway):
And this was the daiquiri that I was forced to order when the bar was out of mint:
And here's my recipe:
Ingredients
one lime, sliced1 lemon, sliced
4 to 5 sprigs mint per glass
2 teaspoons sugar
1 to 2 ounces rum, depending on how strong you want the drink
Club soda
Ice
Bitters
Start by crushing several slices of lime, several slices of lemon, the mint, and 2 teaspoons of sugar in the bottom of an old-fashioned glass. Add the rum and stir. Fill the glass with ice. Fill the ice with club soda. Mix and add a splash of bitters on top.
Cheers! Merry Christmas! Happy holidays!
Still need gift ideas? Check out yesterday's post...
Yum! Thanks for the recipe. Tonight I enjoyed a chocolate martini and discovered you could cook really tasty chicken tacos using chocolate barbeque sauce. Who knew Dove chocolate had home parties?
ReplyDeleteLucy, it's so funny that I only recently became a Mojito fan, too. And guess when? On my trip to Key West in September! My friend and I stopped in at the Tranquility Bay Resort in Marathon to eat lunch, but unfortunately, the lovely dining room didn't open until later, so we were sent to the beach bar where I had my first Mojito and a delicious quesadilla while viewing the beautiful ocean and beach. That drink became my go-to drink in Key West, except for the Key Lime Shooters.
ReplyDeleteIt was good of you to do research for the rest of us on drinks and to provide the great recipe. Now I can fix my own Mojito, although I don't think one will ever taste as good as being in Key West drinking one.
Joan, the chocolate martini sounds like a winner, too. I would also like to re-visit a White Russian sometime. Key West was the place I first had that, too. I'm usually a rather boring drinker, either a Cape Codder (vodka and cranberry juice) or a glass of wine.
ha ha, Kathy, I usually don't drink except for special occasions. This whole week rated as a special occasion! The beach bar sounds delightful
ReplyDeleteJoan, the chocolate martini and barbeque sauce? the jury's out on those!
Roberta, can you do a travel guide to Key West for us sometime? It would make a great post!
ReplyDeleteOne of the first things I do whenever I get to Florida is order a mojito. Made with muddled (mangled?) fresh mint and fresh limes. Your recipe seems perfect... though the lime and lemon take up a lot of the glass. Why not use squeezed juice?
ReplyDeleteHere I'm drinking wintery rinks: sherry (amontillado), mulled red wine, warm cider, spiked eggnog. Somehow mojitos and cold weather don't mix.
I'm with Hallie--mojitos are summery drinks! But so good, and one of the very few rum drinks I enjoy.
ReplyDeleteWhite Russians are a favorite of mine, from way, way back. Every once in awhile, if we happen to have some cream on hand, I'll make us one.
We were in New Orleans over Thanksgiving, and our hosts kept taking us to find the perfect Sazerac. Never did find it, but the discovery trail was fun!
Thanks for all your research, Roberta. It's a tough job, etc.
Yes I can certainly do that Susan--good idea!
ReplyDeleteHallie, you could use squeezed juice, but I think the rind gives it a little extra flavor?
It is a tough job Karen! what is Sazerac?
Sazerac is a New Orleans favorite: rye whiskey, Peychaud's Bitters, sugar, and absinthe, served neat with a lemon-peel twist.
ReplyDeleteWe kept getting them made with Campari or something, though, instead of the Peychaud's bitters, and they were much too sweet, apparently. Still tasty, though.
The Mojito sounds good. I don't have the makings on hand but on a Sunday morning, right now a Bloody Mary sounds better. :)
ReplyDeleteAround Thanksgiving/Christmas I get a craving for Bailey's Irish Cream. None of the other brands will do and none of the enhanced flavors of Bailey's. Straight, no ice.
My husband is diabetic so we don't do much drinking, though I usually have wine on hand for myself sometimes. When I was younger I did go to a 2-week bartender school in Denver that was fun.
My first mojito was in Key West! It was a revelation.
ReplyDeleteFor people like me who can't take the taste of club soda, try seltzer. It gives the fizz without that taste.
Karen--do you join the fairies with your Sazerac (thanks to the absinthe)?
The absinthe is very slight in a Sazerac; I think you merely wipe the rim with it.
ReplyDeleteBut I've had absinthe before, on a previous trip to NOLA. And no fairies, alas.
It's interesting to me that while I'm not much of a drinker, I am fascinated with bars, liquor bottles, and drink recipes. And, Hallie, I agree that there are summer drinks and winter drinks, making the seasons bright (hehe).
ReplyDeleteKaren, the Sazerac sounds intriguing. When my daughter went to Europe in 2004 or 2005, she brought back some absinthe spirit (it was still illegal to buy it in the states then, but you could bring it back from Europe), and I was mesmerized by its literary history, drunk by authors, and I bought a couple of books about absinthe (of course). "Ernest Hemingway, Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine, Arthur Rimbaud, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Amedeo Modigliani, Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, Oscar Wilde, Aleister Crowley, Erik Satie and Alfred Jarry were all known absinthe drinkers." They were looked upon with some disdain by conservative society, as the spirit was thought to be hallucinogenic, and it was banned in the U.S. in 1915. It only became legal to buy absinthe here again in 2007. However, there is discussion that it is not the true absinthe, as it is required to be produced for sale in this country thujone-free, and thujone is what gives absinthe its buzz. Back to your Sazerac cocktail, Karen, a great Wikipedia page I found on absinthe states the following; "New Orleans has a profound cultural association with absinthe, and is credited as the birthplace of the Sazerac, perhaps the earliest absinthe cocktail. The Old Absinthe House bar, located on Bourbon Street, serves as a prominent historical landmark. Originally named The Absinthe Room, it was opened in 1874 by a Catalan bartender named Cayetano Ferrer[citation needed]. The building was frequented by many famous people, including Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde, Franklin Roosevelt, Aleister Crowley and Frank Sinatra.[18][19]" A link to this page, with loads of information and illustrations, such as paintings of the Absinthe Drinker by Manet and Picasso, is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absinthe The article also includes the traditional or French Method and the Bohemian Method of drinking absinthe, in which a sugar cube is involved and fire with the Bohemian method.
As I stated earlier, absinthe is one of those subjects that captivate me, due largely to its ties to writers and artists. Now, I will have to pull out one of my books on the subject today.
Cool, Kathy! When I was in NOLA for the first time my friend I was visiting took me to Pirates Alley, where there is an actual absinthe bar, just across the street from the cathedral on Jackson Square. They use the beautiful filigree silver spoons to hold the flaming sugar cube, through which the water is poured onto the absinthe.
ReplyDeleteThey swear the absinthe they have is made with wormwood, which has the thujone. I used to grow wormwood, and know that it is very bitter, and tastes just like absinthe. (It's also poisonous in not very large amounts.) I used it as a moth repellent in potpourris.
Karen, now I can so not wait for Bouchercon in New Orleans in 2016! All of those who participate on this blog and attend that Bouchercon will have to plan a trip to your absinthe bar. You can be our guide. Jungle Reds, are you up for an absinthe bar in 2016?
ReplyDeleteOh, and Hallie, I had an idea and thought of you, since you write such great stories with a New York setting. I can only blame you fabulous authors for how my mind works these days. I was reading in the Sunday paper about the Santacon in NYC and how it's getting out of hand. I immediately thought of setting a murder at Santacon. Now, there could be the addition of absinthe involved, especially with the poisonous wormwood. Wouldn't that be a lovely Christmas story? Hahaha!
Love the way your evil mind is working Kathy!!
ReplyDeleteLucy-Ro yours looks best I think. I'm looking for a good cadillac Margarita. Any expert advice on that?
ReplyDeleteJust one more thought, make that evil thought, Lucy. You, Lucy, could have a murder featuring Mojitos. There are so many good titles that could expand from that word. The Malicious Mojito, A Murder Most Mojito, The Mojito Murder, The Malicioius Mojito Murder. I must turn off evil mind now.
ReplyDeleteThis is SO fabulous! Jonathan and I are on our way to your house..
ReplyDelete