The thing I love about easy cocktail recipes is that there are so many minor changes you can make that might improve the flavor. This grapefruit mojito is analogous to the previous C/Mojito Cocktail here on the blog.
The addition of grapefruit adds quite a lot to this mojito cocktail. In my opinion mojito recipes are won and lost by their ingredients. Ingredients for a mojito should be fresh: past-prime mint leaves produce minimal aroma, cheap rum makes a cheap taste, etc. The pink grapefruit warms up the drink visually by giving it a great natural color. The citrus brings the drink to a whole new level of taste.
One other tweak was made to the sweetener. You can use the more traditional simple syrup (boil equal parts sugar and water) or maple syrup like I tried this time. I think it helped the flavor to be a little more complex, as well as sweet. A really good choice if you’ve got real maple syrup!
Cheers friends!
Grapefruit Mojito
The addition of citrus adds quite a lot to this grapefruit mojito cocktail. You can also use traditional simple syrup or maple syrup sweetener.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Yield: 2 drinks
Ingredients
- 2 large pink grapefruits
- 2-3 limes
- 2 tablespoons simple syrup or maple syrup
- a handful of mint leaves
- a bit of traditional sugar
- 3-4 ounces white rum
- 1 cup sparking water or seltzer
- 3 cups ice
Instructions
- Juice the grapefruits and limes into a handy clean glass. Strain the juice through a fine mesh. A good setup allows you to juice and filter at the same time.
- Add your sweetener, simple syrup, or maple syrup, to the juice. You may have to warm it up in the microwave briefly and stir it to combine.
- Separately, place a few mint leaves in one half of a cocktail shaker set. If you don’t have a shaker, you can use a jar with a tight lid, or even a clean Starbucks-style coffee mug! Put a bit of traditional sugar in with the mint. Muddle the mint and sugar. You won’t need a lot of sugar here. The sugar grains are there to physically cut the mint leaves as you grind them together, releasing the aroma of the mint and producing a better flavor.
- Add the grapefruit/lime/syrup juice creation, as well as the rum and a bit of ice to the shaker. Cover the shaker tightly and shake well, for at least 10 full seconds.
- Fill your drink glass with a few fresh mint leaves and/or fresh ice. If you’re fancy you’ll chill the glass; if you’re in a hurry you won’t.
- Use the shaker to strain the contents into the drinking glass.
- Add sparkling water to fill the drinking glass.
- Kick back, relax and enjoy.
