We went out to eat at Hemingway’s Island Grill and the server suggested the Mojito. Since I was but a young pup at the time, I had never heard of the drink and was willing to give it a try. Hell, the thing has rum, sugar and mint-can’t go wrong there.

Image|Amy Tucker

I tried it. I loved it. And then, I drank two more.

By the time we left, I was in a rather jovial mood and have been a fan of the Mojito ever since.

Now that we’ve moved in-land and away from Florida, I’ve been hard pressed to find a Mojito that can even come close to the heaven that I experienced in Pensacola. Maybe it’s the fact that the Mojito has become so well known across the country and so companies have introduced mixers to create the drink, or, maybe I’ve just been cursed with bad bartenders.

The fact remains that I haven’t had a good Mojito since 2003…until today.

Today’s drink came from a Ruby Tuesday’s in Arkansas.

It was the “drink of the day” and I figured, “What the hell? Might as well”.

I asked the waitress if the drink was made from a mixer or if the bartender actually muddled the mint and sugar them self. If I had to go by the vacant look the waitress gave me, I probably would have canceled my order right then. The waitress promised to ask the bartender and then get back to me.

In the end, the drink was actually made in the restaurant so I gave it a try. Glad I did.

I didn’t have a single complaint with the drink. The sweetness [a common issue with Mojitos] was just right and the taste of mint was just enough so that I knew it was there but it didn’t overpower the drink.

Bravo, Ruby Tuesday.

Mojito

Ingredients:

• 1 spoonful of sugar
• The juice of half a lime
• Fresh mint
• 50 ml of Havana Club Añejo 3 Años
• Sparkling water

Directions:

In a tall glass :

Muddle [crush] the sugar and mint together.

Add the juice of half a lime and 50 ml of Havana Club Añejo 3 Años.

Add two or three ice cubes.

Top with sparkling water, stir and garnish with a sprig of mint.

Post from: EveryJoe

A Review of Ruby Tuesday’s Mojito

Peppermint Twist Candy Cane Martini

Vanilla ice cream
White Creme de Menthe
Giffard Vanilla Syrup

Blend and serve in a chilled martini glass with either a crushed candy cane rim, or just float some crushed candy cane on top. The idea is to keep this drink pristine and white like new snow. Garnish with a mint leaf. We might also try adding a touch of white creme de cacao in here as well. We’ll see.

Holiday ‘Hopper

Consider the Holiday Hopper a Grasshopper with a twist (everything’s got a twist this season!).  Midori has taken one of the more popular Christmas ‘martinis’ and added their liqueur for this melon background that is really quite interesting and makes, in my opinion, a far better cocktail. As with the Grasshopper, use white creme de cacao because the brown makes the finished drink look like some sort of sludge, which is rather unappealing.

Ingredients:

• 1 oz Midori melon liqueur
• 1/2 oz green creme de menthe
• 1/2 oz white creme de cacao
• 2 oz half and half
• mint leaves for garnish
• raspberry for garnish

Preparation:

1. Pour the ingredients into cocktail shaker filled with ice.
2. Shake well.
3. Strain into a cocktail glass.
4. Garnish with a mint leaves and a raspberry.

That’s our start at least – what’s your favourite holiday drink?

(image source: Midori; image for Peppermint Twist coming soon)

Post from: EveryJoe

Experimental Mixology: The Christmas Edition