mojito

I spent Saturday night at a friend's ranch down in Bakersfield and we all (20 of us) had a delicious dinner together. Before dinner my friend Maile set up a Mojito Factory Assembly Line so she could make mojitos for everyone at the Ranch. Several people picked the freshly cut mint from the stems, another person cut up the tiny Mexican limes, one person added the limes and sugar to the glasses and yet another added the mint and muddled. It was quite an operation and the end result was refreshingly wonderful. I had forgotten how much I love this summery, incredibly light cocktail and quickly powered through a glass. Unfortunately we didn't have enough ice to make everyone a second round, so I'll definitely be making up a batch of these for my sister to celebrate Cinco de Mayo this weekend. It's a great alternative if you don't like tequila margaritas, so check out the recipe and read more

With spring break narrowing in on us, (woo-hoo! even though I'm not in school anymore I celebrate spring break each year by spending a long weekend away), it's the appropriate time to stock up on a bar tool that you will use a lot once the warm weather hits hard. A muddler is essential to making juicy, refreshing mojitos and caipirinhas. Sure you could substitute a long wooden spoon, but I find nothing crushes a lime and releases the essence of mint as well as a muddler. The handy, crushing one I have at home is this simple beachwood muddler. It's $5.00, a pretty reasonable price considering all of the use you'll get out of it and I get double the use out of mine by using it as a pestle to crush herbs and spices. I prefer wood over any other material because it's easy to clean and will last forever. However if you want something a little more fancy, check out these options and read more

A little while back we gave you a sampling of pear vodka and if you haven't tasted it yet, what are you waiting for? Pear vodka is everywhere, it's the vodka to mix in your specialty drinks. Being that St. Patty's is tomorrow I have the perfect green, mint infused cocktail recipe. This is an exclusive concoction being served tomorrow at the St. Patrick's Day celebration at Nurse Bettie in New York City. The drink is an interesting interpretation of a mojito with a blend of the vodka, midori sour, and white grape juice. Sound like a refreshing alternative to drinking beer? Check out the recipe and read more

It seems that pomegranate martinis are everywhere these days. A while back, when he was obsessed with making them, my friend Gabe taught me his recipe. However I'm kinda martini-ed out and even though it's the middle of winter, I feel like something refreshing and light. So I'm taking a classic mojito recipe and giving it a twist by adding a new flavor, pomegranate juice. To make a pomegranate mojito tonight, read more