anytime mojitos.

It’s raining. It’s pouring. And I’d like a mojito.

 The great thing about these mojitos is that it doesn’t matter what the weather’s about. It could be raining, sleeting, snowing, hailing – or whatever other craziness you Northerners must face… With a little prep in advance, you can enjoy a mojito anytime.

Anytime Mojitos

I’m calling these anytime mojitos because you can use a mint simple syrup as well as frozen lime juice and frozen mint to make them – all ingredients you can keep on hand. You can make frozen lime juice by juicing limes and freezing the juice into an ice cube tray, and fresh mint can easily be frozen – just be sure it’s double bagged and/or properly sealed. Even better: Create lime/mint ice cubes by filling an ice cube tray with lime juice, and then adding fresh mint to each cube. The muddling isn’t as important here because you’ve got the mint flavor coming from the simple syrup. If you’ve got fresh mint or limes on hand, by all means – feel free to use them.

• Mint syrup
• Light rum
• Lime juice, fresh or frozen (see note above)
• Mint, fresh or frozen (see note above)
• Club soda

To make the mint syrup, you’ll need 1 bunch fresh mint, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup water. Make a simple syrup by bringing the water, sugar, and mint to a boil in a small saucepan. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Turn the heat down a bit and let the mixture steep for a few minutes. Remove from heat and let it sit for 10-15 more minutes, then strain the mint out and pour the syrup into a jar or closed container. Keep it this way in the refrigerator for a month or so.

If you are using fresh mint that you’ve frozen, take it out and lay it on a paper towel. It will thaw very quickly.

For each serving, add 2-3 tablespoons of mint syrup to a glass. If you are using large glasses, you may want to add more. You can always add more if you like it sweeter.

Add about 2 ounces (shots) of light rum to the glass. If you’re using frozen mint and/or lime cubes, add a couple to the glass. If you are using fresh lime juice, add a squeeze to the glass – about half a lime or so. If you are using fresh mint (either fresh or fresh that’s been frozen), add the leaves and muddle them against the glass with your spoon to release their flavor.

Top with club soda, and enjoy. Cheers!