September 25, 2007
By Maggie Heyn Richardson
My mojitos need help.
I'm blending six ounces of white rum with fresh mint muddled with sugar and fresh lime with a splash of club soda on top. What results just doesn't seem balanced. It's either too limey or too rummy. Logic says to cut back on those two things, but it's just not that simple. Change one thing and something else goes screwy. A few blogs back, I bellyached about my experience at Guamas Restaurant in Lafayette, but the place makes a mean mojito. Since my evening there, I've been trying to get the alchemy right at home. By the time I finally nail it, it'll be cold around here, and I'll be in the mood for red wine or gin. If you know the secret, please tell us below.
Speaking of reds, I've been on the hunt for ones that go well with burgers. This weekend, I liked locally-owned Chateau Camplezans 2001 Via Domitia, a yummy Syrah that's velvety in texture and subtly flavored with chocolate and berries (around $15). The other one that worked nicely was Cockatoo Ridge's 2004 fruity, straightforward Cabernet Sauvingon/Merlot blend (around $10).
Finally, does anyone know of a really great, but not overwhelmingly hard, coconut cake recipe?
Comments
Posted by sherishiqua on September 26 at 1:19 p.m.
Almost any Cote du Rhone, especially if the burgers are grilled on charcoal. Cote du Rhones are also fairly inexpensive so its hard to find a bad one.
Maybe use a little less lime juice and use more zest. Maybe try a lemon, or if they have them lime rum. You could make simple syrup and use that at will to see if it counters the over rum/lime problem.
Posted by ggrazioso on September 26 at 3:01 p.m.
Try this:
Start with 2 tablespoons simple syrup.
Toss in 10 - 12 mint leaves and muddle.
Squeeze in 1/4 of a fresh lime and then throw the squeezed wedge in as well. Muddle again.
Add 3 ounces white rum.
Add ice and top with a splash of soda.
Posted by proman425 on September 26 at 3:06 p.m.
You really need to equalize your rum/club soda combo - - a few ounces of each. Also, be generous with the lime - - more than an "iced tea" wedge is appropriate - - - a 1/3 inch thick slice across the center of the lime works well. Don't overmuddle the mint. Still, with these tips my end product often misses the mark. Perhaps more practice would improve my skills . . .
In the face of such struggles, I refer you to Byronz for a tasty mojito. "Byronz for a mojito?", you may ask. Strange but true. First, they have "Sonic" ice which helps any drink. Also, they slip a splash of Sprite in with the club soda. Okay, authenticity out the window but trust me, its good. (Interesting authenticity tid-bit. A Cuban friend and the folks at Martin's tell me that a REAL mojito uses cachaca instead of rum---cachaca is a Brazilian liquor made from sugar cane. I tried it---very different taste and not what I've come to expect in a mojito. Ok, I digress.) For some reason, Byronz calls its drink a "Mint Julep Mojito" which almost made me not order it. I confirmed, however, that the Mint Julep reference is more about southernness (is that a word?) than actual ingredients. I've also had good mojitos at Mestizo, the Capitol House Hilton bar and Jubans. Bad mojitos at Roberto's and Ruffinos.
Any other good mojito spots out there?
Posted by sambeauxjangles on September 26 at 5:02 p.m.
I think simple syrup is the key since sugar doesn't seem to mix well...
Here's how I make my mojitos:
Cut 1/2 a lime in to 4 wedges
Drop 3 of the wedges in to a cocktail shaker
Using a muddler, squeeze as much juice as you can out of the lime wedges
Add several mint leaves
Add 3 to 4 tbsp of simple syrup
Muddle again
Fill with ice
Add 4 oz of light rum (I prefer Ron Matusalem)
Shake just enough to mix, but not too hard to tear up the mint leaves
Pour entire contents in to a 12 oz glass
Fill with club soda
Squeeze the 4th wedge of lime into the glass and drop it in
Give it a quick stir then enjoy!
This past spring while visiting Oak Alley, I came accross their Mint Syrup. I substituted it for simple syrup with pretty good results. I had to cut back on the number of mint leaves, though.
If I remember right, Ninfa's has a pretty good mojito. Cheescake Bistro's mojito is more of a non-traditional martini style, but nevertheless pretty tasty.
Posted by jsheffie on September 26 at 8:20 p.m.
I've had those Bistro Byronz mojitos and I have to say, they ARE surprisingly good. And don't get me started on their chess pie, yum yum. Our server heard me pleading with my kids to order the chess pie so I could have a taste (trying to show some restraint by not ordering it for myself). The kids did not succumb to the mind control, so she (the lovely and talented server) sneaked a piece of chess pie into our doggie bag, no charge. SWEET! Oh sorry, what was the topic?
Posted by LenNJ on September 28 at 10:50 a.m.
As a former bartender, my friends always insist that I make mojitos at every party - they are VERY easy to whip up and should take no longer than about 30 secs.
Here's what I do but of course you can adjust to your taste:
*half a lime, quartered
*about two sprigs of mint - I don't bother to remove the leaves but you can
*2-3 teaspoons of sugar
*muddle all together until the mint is almost pulverized and all the juice has been squished out of the limes -- the key is to muddle these 3 ingredients together using the sugar as a grinding agent to get the oils out of the mint and lime - do not add any liquids prior to this step.
*add ice to the top of glass
*add a couple ounces of white rum to taste (you can start off with less as you can always add more)
*top off with club soda
*stir all together with a straw - no need to shake
Mojitos are very similar to the brazilian caipirinha (my fave since I'm from Brasil) except that the latter is made with Cachaça, a sugar cane liquor and does not include mint or club soda and therefore is a very strong drink. Mojitos are traditionally rum based but in a pinch, you can substitute vodka and most people won't notice any difference.
Posted by sherishiqua on October 2 at 11:24 a.m.
Another Prosecco use is mixed with Aperol, an Italian apertif, similiar to Campari.
Posted by por_deni on October 2 at 1:02 p.m.
I use turbinado sugar--sugar in the raw--and make it into simple syrup. The earthy, cane-y flavor is better than plain *sweet*.
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