It’s always interesting to compare bartenders’ takes on a well-known mixed drink like a Mojito. Some search the annals of cocktail history to prepare it as ‘tenders did in ages past. Others give the oldie a makeover using the fresh flavors of the season or now-trending spirits and mixers. Just as you’re starting to work through the eight-stop Mojito circuit offered in the July issue of Sauce, we’ve got three more to add to your summer bar crawl.
No. 8 Mojito (pictured), listed in the tome known as Sanctuaria’s Cocktail Club Menu, is based on a recipe in David A. Embury’s classic cocktail book The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, first published in 1948. It is essentially a Collins (which Embury happened to call a Pedro Collins) that’s made with rum. So, how does a rum Collins become a Mojito? A simple garnish of mint. If you eschew sweet summertime drinks, the No. 8 – a tall glass filled with rum, lemon juice and simple syrup, topped with soda water all over crushed ice (and the ever-important mint sprig) – will be your No. 1 Mojito.
At BC’s Kitchen in Lake St. Louis, The Noueveau Mojito is so nouveau, the word’s been given a new spelling. Credit bartender Brooksey Cardwell for this contemporary combination of rum infused with mint and lime zest, a delicious house-made mint simple syrup, tart white grapefruit juice and a topping of club soda. This version, found in BC’s Kitchen’s Big Book of Cocktails menu, will readily please those who love the essence of mint but prefer not to see it swimming in the glass.
Like many items on the menu at Cleveland-Heath in Edwardsville, the composition of the Moonshine Mojito changes frequently. For the base spirit, the restaurant unscrews a Mason jar of vodka-esque, distilled-from-corn Midnight Moon that’s been aged with fruit. Blueberry is the flavor of the moment, but other times, it may be Midnight Strawberry or Apple Pie that gets combined with lime juice and simple syrup and then poured over cubed ice. The drink is finished with the requisite club soda and mint garnish.
A Mojito is one of the most refreshing cocktails to imbibe on a hot summer day. With bars all over town offering their takes on this classic drink right now, consider taking a tour of the Mojito scene next time you’re looking to beat the heat with a cold one.
This article appears in July 2012.