Cocktail Recipes

Traditional Mojito

This recipe is a favorite of Catherine Nasmith, the mojito enthusiast who brought Mojito Mint to Canada and the US:
1/2 to 2 tsp sugar (depending on taste)
1 large sprig Mojito Mint
1 oz white rum
1 oz lime juice
ice
soda water

Pour sugar in glass and add mint, pound with a flat instrument to crush or “muddle” the mint into the sugar thus releasing the oils. Add ice, rum, and lime juice, fill with soda water, and stir. A special thanks to Richter’s and Catherine for sharing this recipe.

Ernest Hemingway made this refreshing Cuban cocktail famous in southern Florida. Mojito mint lends a traditional mild, warm flavor that is not pungent nor overly sweet like other mints. We’ve heard that Havana Club three-year is the Cuban rum of choice for this drink, but Bacardi Superior Light, Captain Morgan’s Silver Edition or Oronoco are all good substitutes. Some mojito aficianados suggest using simple syrup or the more traditional sugar cane juice, called guarapo.

The Mojito Party

This recipe, from A Taste of Cuba by Beatriz Llamas and Ximena Maier (New York: Interlink Books, 2005), starts with a mojito base. Then you prepare the mojito itself adding sparkling water and ice to the base so it’s a wonderful time-saver for parties.

The mojito base:
1 cup sugar
1 cup fresh lime juice
a bunch of mojito mint
1 bottle (750 ml) 3-year-old rum

Beat the sugar, lime juice and mojito mint with the stems until you get a greenish liquid and the mint is completely chopped. Add the rum and beat for one more minute. This can be kept in the fridge for a month.
To prepare the mojito, fill a tall glass 1/4 full with the base liquid, add 3 ice cubes and then fill the glass with sparkling water. Add a sprig of mint, stir and serve.

The Nojito

Here is a non-alcoholic recipe from recipezaar.com:
crushed ice
8 mint leaves
3 ounces lime juice
1-1/2 ounces sugar syrup
2 ounces club soda
garnish with mint

Fill a pint glass 1/3 full with ice, add mint leaves, lime juice and sugar syrup. Lightly mash the leaves in the liquid using a blunt instrument, taking care not to tear the leaves. Fill the
glass with more ice, add club soda, and garnish with mint.

Traditional Margarita

Three parts tequila, 100% blue agave
One part orange liqueur
One part fresh lime juice, lightly sweetened to taste with sugar
Coarse salt
Margarita Mint sprig

Prepare the glass by rubbing the rim with a piece of lime peel,
then place the rim on a sprinkling of coarse salt. Lift it up quickly so
only a small amount sticks to form a light dusting around the rim of
the glass. Put the tequila, lime juice and orange liqueur into a shaker
with ice. Shake. Pour into a salted glass and garnish with Margarita
Mint. Enjoy!

Try adding one part creme de menthe for a refreshing mint margarita.

Tequila Sunrise

2 oz tequila, 100% blue agave
4 oz orange juice
2 dashes grenadine

Pour tequila and orange juice in a highball glass. Add ice and stir.
Tilt the glass and pour the grenadine down the side. The Grenadine
should fall to the bottom of the glass, and then rise up slowly. Garnish
with an orange slice.

Ixtapa

2 oz. coffee liqueur
1 oz. silver tequila

Tequila Sour
1¼ oz. tequila
juice of ½ lemon
½ tsp. bar sugar
Shake with ice. Strain into chilled sour glass. Garnish with lemon slice and maraschino cherry.

Tequila Martini

¾ oz. tequila
½ oz. dry vermouth
Stir with ice. Strain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with an olive.

Tequila is made from the roasted heart, or piña, of the blue agave or maguey plant (agave tequilana weber azul). Agave takes 8-12 years to mature so you may wish purchase some premium tequila for cocktails while you tend your agave plant. For more information about tequila, pulque, and blue agave, visit Ian Chadwick’s site: In Search of the Blue Agave.

According to the Washington Post, "… bartenders who once mashed — or in bar-speak, muddled — only mint for mojitos and juleps are bringing the rest of the herb roster into play.
Herbs are key ingredients in dozens of late summer cocktails. Cilantro, rosemary and thyme are common. Every sort of herbal garnish goes. And with home gardens and farmers markets at a seasonal peak, plenty of fresh herbs are available."

If you are feeling daring, here are a few herbal cocktails to try from herbalcocktails.com:

Lemon Thyme Cello

2 cups water
1 cup sugar
4 lemons, seeded and cut into eighths
1 bunch of thyme, stemmed
1 1/2 ounces light tequila, such as Patron Silver, thoroughly chilled in freezer
Splash of lemon-lime soda
Sprig of thyme, for garnish

In a medium saucepan, add the 2 cups of water and 1 cup of sugar. Bring to a boil, and stir to dissolve the sugar. Squeeze the juice from the lemons into the mixture, and add the lemon pieces. Add thyme and stir. Boil until the liquid is reduced by half. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour, then strain. This will make enough lemon thyme mixture for 8 drinks.
When ready to serve, chill a martini glass. Fill a shaker with ice. Add the tequila and 2 ounces of the lemon thyme mixture and shake vigorously. Strain into chilled martini glass, top with a splash of the lemon-lime soda. Garnish with the sprig of thyme.

Verbena Martini

1 cup dry white wine
1 cup water
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoons honey
Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
Zest and juice of 1/2 lime
12 leaves lemon verbena
2 1/2 ounces citrus rum or citrus vodka
Verbena leaves, for garnish

In a large pot, add wine, water, sugar, honey and the lemon and lime zest and juice and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Add verbena leaves and steep at least 12 hours. This makes enough verbena syrup for 25 drinks.
For 1 verbena martini, mix 1 ounce of the verbena syrup with the citrus rum or citrus vodka. Shake and strain into martini glass. Use extra verbena leaves for garnish.

Purple Basil Cocktail

1 1/4 cups Simple Syrup
Three 14.5-ounce cans coconut juice from young coconuts (not coconut milk) *
1 bunch of purple basil, stemmed
Juice of 2 limes
3/4 ounce Limon Rum
3/4 ounce coconut-flavored rum

In a large saucepan over high heat, add the simple syrup and coconut water and bring to a boil. Add the purple basil and boil for 2 minutes. Add the lime juice and stir. Remove from heat and pour mixture into blender. Blend on high for 2 minutes. Strain twice through a fine mesh sieve. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Makes enough basil cocktail mixture for 10 drinks.When ready to serve, chill a martini glass. Fill shaker with ice, add the rums and 2 ounces of the basil cocktail mixture and shake vigorously. Strain the rum and basil mixture into glass. Garnish with a basil leaf.