My aunt came over last week and since she loves mojitos I knew they were in order. I wanted to give these mojitos a winter twist as in my mind mojitos are more of a summery-beachy kind of drink. The addition of the cranberries to the simple syrup was perfect and it made all of this snow a little more bearable…even if only for one drink.
If cranberries aren’t your thing, you could use any fruit, just make sure to cut up the fruit into bite size pieces for fruit such as strawberries, plums, etc. Also, I like to make my simple syrup a day or two in advance as it really allows the fruit to flavor the syrup.
Cranberry Mojito Recipe
Ingredients:
To make the simple syrup:
1/4 bag of cranberries
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of water
To make each mojito:
10 – 15 mint leaves
1 oz of fresh lime juice
1 oz of cranberry simple syrup
2 oz of rum
A splash or two of plain seltzer
Directions:
To make the simple
syrup:
syrup:
1. Make the simple syrup- combine 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar to a medium sized sauce pan over medium heat. (This time I used 2 cups of sugar and 2 cups of water just to make sure I had plenty; but you could use any amount as long as the water and sugar amounts are equal).
2. Add in half a bag of cranberries (adjust amount of cranberries for the amount of simple syrup you are making…if you use only 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar, use ¼ a bag of cranberries.
3. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.
4. Let the syrup cool completely, then bottle and keep in fridge until you are ready to use.
To make the mojito:
5. In the bottom of a glass, muddle the mint leaves with the lime juice and simple syrup. Add the rum.
6. Top with crushed ice and soda water.
7. Stir.
8. Garnish with mint sprig and enjoy! Cheers!
Recipe adapted from 101 Mojitos & Other Muddled Drinks by Kim Haasarud