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Health & Fitness

You Can Be the Mayor of Mojito Town!

Don't get all muddled, try this streamlined Mojito recipe!

Last week, La Familia took a trip out to the sweltering wilds of Orlando, Florida.  Princesses were stalked and photographed, large mice were hugged, and hundreds of miles were walked.  It was a fabulous time.  I also had the opportunity to observe some of the most experienced bartenders in the world mix up some wildly complex cocktails.  Of course, the Bay Area has no shortage of highly practiced bartenders mixing dizzyingly complex cocktails, but what can I say, I like to cast a wide net. 

Surely, those I saw were at the peak of their prowess and deserving of the $15 they charge per drink.  While they spent as much as four to six minutes on a single drink, mixing a litany of obscure ingredients gathered by pygmy tribes at the furthest edges of civilization, I couldn’t help thinking, “Man, I just want my flippin’ drink.”

So, this week I’m going back to the core 30-Second Bartender mission – to help make parties and cocktails quick, easy, and inexpensive.  And, let it begin with one of my favorite drinks, the Mojito.  There are few things that can quench your thirst like one of Disney’s $11 Mojitos.  But for the home bar, it can be done much cheaper and much easier and without the use of sugar as a separate ingredient, which is the bane of all home bartenders.

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For those keeping track, a traditional Mojito calls for powered sugar at the bottom of the glass, then mint muddled on top, booze, lime juice, and finally club soda. This is a drink that calls out for streamlining, if for no other reason than it calls for a muddler, which is basically just a $4 stick.  For the 30-Second Bartender version, I’ve eliminated some steps, ingredients, and the muddler, but the end result is still a perfectly good Mojito.

                                                            Ingredients

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                                    * 1 oz. Light Rum  * 5-8 leaves and one sprig (for garnish) of Mint

                                                  * 1/2 oz. Lime juice  * 5 oz. Lemon-Lime soda

                                                            Special Gear

                  * Muddler (or a chop stick, which comes free with a Chinese take-out order)

                                                                  Glass

An 8-once, clear glass is best to view the minty goodness inside, but if you’re at the right spot on the Party Spectrum, you can get away with plastic.

                                                          Special Garnish

The use of mint as a flavor in any drink is going to add time. You can reduce your mint-handing time requirements by cleaning the mint before your party and then keeping the prepared mint in a container at the bar. Mint is also usually served as a garnish with Mojitos, so you’ll want to prepare two separate containers. Clean a bunch of mint, then fill one container fill of single, loose leaves and another container full of sprigs (that’s the top of a branch usually two inches or so, with four or five leaves still attached). Then you’ll be ready with loose leaves to flavor the drink and sprigs for a garnish.

                                                              Preparation

The first step is a matter of taste: start by tearing up five to eight mint leaves and dropping them in the bottom of the glass. I like lots of little floating pieces of mint in my Mojito, but my wife doesn’t. So in deference to her, a low-particulate version is possible by dropping the mint leaves into the glass whole. Muddle the leaves or leaf pieces. I am far to cheap to justify paying good money for a “muddler,” which is basically just a stick. So, I use the flat end of a chop stick and it does just fine. Once you’ve muddled the mint, fill the glass three-quarters full with ice. Add an ounce each of lime juice and rum. Then top off the glass with the lemon-lime soda. Give it a stir, drop on your garnish and you’re the mayor of Mojito-town!

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