Happy Mojito Land

I've seen a lot of posts lately about mojitos, which of course made me want one. They're often mentioned in relation to Cinco de mayo, but in reality they are a Cuban drink. That is unless you replace the rum with tequila. My husband and I think that mojitos are best enjoyed in Ybor City with a nice cigar while listening to Cuban music.

I can't say that I have a recipe that I use each and every time I make mojitos, I like to play around with it. Plus depending on how I'm feeling I might double up the amounts of rum. And the rum amounts get larger the more mojitos that I have. But that is another story.

I personally don't like to taste the rum in my drink much at all, so I make a sweeter mojito. Here is how we do for a basic mojito, acceptable to drink any day of the week.

First you will need to make a simple sugar. The amount you'll need depends on how much you plan on drinking! The ratio is one part water to one part granulated sugar. I usually start with one cup of water and one cup of sugar. Put your mixture in a small pot and heat until your sugar has dissolved completely. Pull off and it's ready to use.

5-6 fresh mint leaves
1/2 tsp powdered sugar (my not so secret secret ingredient)
juice from 1/2 of a lime
2 oz simple sugar
2 oz of 10 Cane Rum (This is our favorite!)
splash of club soda
ice :)

First put your mint leaves, powdered sugar, and lime juice in a glass and muddle them with your muddler. I love that word...muddler.

That is a muddler in the photo above, in case you aren't familiar with them. Basically it's a wooden stick that you use to kind of crush the mint leaves. If you don't have one, you can always use the end of a serving spoon or anything else you can find.

Once you're all muddled, fill the glass with ice. Then add the rest of the ingredients: the simple sugar, rum, and club soda. Stir your drink and you're ready. On that note, I'm ready for another one....

P.S. I would have taken a beautiful photo of this wonderful drink outside in the sunshine with the bay in the back ground. But....by the time that I was able to actually sit down and drink one, the sun had been down for hours. :)

P.P.S. Too sweet for you? You have a couple of options. Add a little extra rum or lime juice. Or you can hold back on the simple sugar. Play with it, make it your own!