Crazy for Cocktails: Mojito

I resisted the siren call of cable TV for years. I didn’t watch a lot of TV. I’m more of a book and movie person. Reality TV does nothing for me. Bachelors, Bachlorettes and Idols don’t do it for me. Nor do Big Brothers and Survivors. The internet, on the other hand, became a bigger and bigger part of my life. Banking, shopping, income taxes, blogging, email, I was spending more and more time online. Time to upgrade from dial-up.

After 14 months of DSL hell, I switched to cable. And discovered my television. Who knew that I could watch Law & Order any time, day or night? I began to branch out. CSI, NCIS, Criminal Minds, Dexter and, my all-time favorite, House.

CSI: Miami fascinates me. No workplace could possibly function with that much cleavage being flashed around. Whenever the ME kneels over a corpse, I hold my breath waiting for a wardrobe malfunction. When the characters aren’t flashing cleavage or trying to ignore flashing cleavage, they’re offering someone a mojita, drinking a mojito or examining a corpse who died after drinking a mojita.

Which lead me to the logical question: what is a mojito? A little Googling told me that it is a drink made with rum. I just happened to have a bottle of rum in the house that was used in the Rum Balls. A quick visit to the Bacardi site and I added a lime and mint to my shopping list. I was making Cuban Pork for Christmas. Mojitos seemed the perfect accompaniment.

The pork was excellent. The mojito on the other hand was not a revelation. Since I was using sugar instead of simple syrup, I discovered that the ice prevented the sugar from being dissolved by the rum and club soda. So the second time (one always has to have a second drink, just to make sure) I poured the rum in before the ice, stirring to make sure the sugar was dissolved. The lime offset the taste of the rum and the mint added a refreshing touch, but it didn’t wow me so much that I wanted to run right out and buy a push-up bra.




Bacardi Mojito Cocktail(source: Bacardi.com)

1 1/2 oz. Bacardi Superior Rum
12 fresh spearmint leaves
1/2 lime
2 Tbsp simple syrup (or 4 tsp sugar)
Top with club soda

Muddle mint leaves and lime in a tall glass. Cover with simple syrup and fill glass with ice. Add Bacardi Rum and club soda. Stir well. Garnish glass with lime wedge and sprigs. of mint.

Recycle: Rum bottle

Compost: lime, spearmint stems