The following step by step instructions for making mojitos are especially for Dave, my dear housemate from Eroica House, ah, going back some 40 years ago. I don’t know that we could have gotten our hands on any fresh mint back then. The only mint I remember was the dried up mint in the Celestial Seasonings teas. Along with Chamomile and Hibiscus flowers, mint tea was supposed to calm the spirit. Hippy stuff. Dave and I were in Providence just recently over Memorial Day weekend, and I’m making good on my promise to give him my recipe for this adult beverage of choice.
Go and pick a bunch of mint leaves from the garden. Mint is like the easiest thing to grow. Rinse and drain.Squeeze juice of one lime into each glass.Place a generous dozen or so leaves in the glass. This is more than twice what most recipes will call for. In this case, you can truly say: If a little is good, More is better. Add 2 teaspoons of granulated white sugar on top of the leaves.I don’t have a muddler so I’ve been using a Japanese wood pestle, typically used for grinding sesame in a grooved ceramic bowl. The grit from the granulated sugar helps smash the mint leaves and releases a lot of lovely mint flavor.A view of the wood pestle muddler, the muddled mint in the glass and the various implements for making the drink.After the mint has been sufficiently muddled, pack the glass with ice and pour a generous jigger of white rum over it and stir.Add club soda to fill the glass and stir a bit more. I think I may have overly smashed the mint leaves for Steve’s liking. He says he doesn’t appreciate the mint leaves getting caught in his teeth, but I don’t mind chewing on them. To clarify, I wouldn’t mind chewing on the mint leaves, not Steve’s teeth, that is. I would add a mint leaf as garnish, and maybe a straw, but I’m having mixed feelings about plastic straws lately so I’m serving this without. All in all, I thought that it came out rather tasty, and close enough to the ones at the Aloha Club served in those ultra classy mason jars. Cheers!
