Looking very pretty, no matter what the season, this Cranberry Mojito is garnished with mint, lime and a sugar cane stick.
December 2007
Updated December 2009
|
|
Cranberry Mojito Recipe
A Great Cocktail For Holiday Entertaining
Ocean Spray held a competition among foodservice professionals for the best cranberry recipe. The winner, this Cranberry Mojito, was developed by Jeff Leidy of Centerplate restaurant in San Diego. Although you can drink it year-round, it’s especially appropriate for the holiday season: Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas dinner—even New Year’s Eve parties.
Mojito History
The Mojito (mo-HEE-toe) hails from Cuba; the name comes from the African word mojo, which means to place a small spell. One story has it that slaves working in Cuban sugar cane fields in the late 19th century invented the drink.
However, historians at Bacardi Rum trace the cocktail’s roots to 1586, the year that Francis Drake and his pirate band made an unsuccessful attempt to sack Havana. Perhaps for solace, Drake’s associate, Richard Drake (no relation), was said to have invented a Mojito-like drink known as El Draque (The Drake). The recipe included aguardiente (a spirit similar to Cachaça), sugar, lime and mint. As with most drinks of the time, it was initially consumed for medicinal purposes.
Sometime in the mid-1800s, with the refinement of rum, the recipe was altered and El Draque became known as El Mojito.
Cranberry Mojito Recipe
Per cocktail:
Ingredients
4 cubes (approximately ¾ ounce) La
Perruche brown sugar cubes*
*These are high-quality, rough-cut brown sugar
cubes, like the type you may have seen in sugar
bowls at fine restaurants. You can find them in
specialty food stores, can click on the link above to
buy them, or can substitute light brown sugar.
-
10 mint leaves (approximately ¼ ounce)
- ½ ounce Craisins
-
Juice of 1 lime
- 1½-2 ounces light rum
-
6 ounces cranberry juice cocktail
-
2 cups cubed ice
-
For garnish: 1 sugar cane swizzle stick,† 1 lime wedge, 1 mint sprig
†Look for these at your local specialty store, or purchase online.
Preparation
- Place sugar cubes, mint leaves, lime juice and Craisins in a bar tumbler and crush ingredients.
- Blend until the Craisins and mint are minced and the sugar is dissolved.
- Add the ice, rum and cranberry juice, mix well and pour into a 20-ounce glass.
- Garnish with lime wedge, swizzle stick and mint sprig.
|
Sugar cane swizzle sticks. |
Recipe © Ocean Spray. Additional material
Lifestyle Direct, Inc. All rights reserved. Images are the copyright of their respective owners.
|
