Thursday, June 21, 2012

Cherry Mojito


It's still super hot here.  Heat wave central. Hello, Summer!  I know a great way for (adults) to cool off on these hot summer evenings.  A nice cold alcoholic beverage.  I don't drink much, and when I do it's usually a Jack and coke.  I say coke but I prefer pepsi, and every once in awhile I'll reach for a ginger ale instead of a pepsi as my mixer.  I've also been know to mix my whiskey with root beer, which I know is completely bonkers.  Also, I'm not too brand specific on my whiskey, nothing that's cheaper than Jack Daniels, which really isn't anything special.  

Wow, that was a little rant about my go to alcoholic beverage!  Anywho ... in the summertime I enjoy a good cocktail.  I get more adventurous with my adult beverages, and I start experimenting more.  Today I came up with a Cherry Mojito.  MMM!  I definitely dig a good mojito.  The mint and lemon lime flavor is so crisp, and refreshing on a super hot day.  I didn't want to mess with that classic flavor too much, but I figured I like all cherry flavored things, so how could this go wrong?  I'm so happy I tried this, so super tasty.  I think I'll be making this again!  

What You'll Need:
- white rum
- simple syrup (or water & sugar)
- fresh mint
- half a lemon
- rose grenadine
- maraschino cherries
- cherry soda
Directions:
I started off by making some simple syrup.  I made a small batch, by boiling 3/4 cup of water in a saucepan, and then I lowered the heat and added 3/4 cup of white sugar.  I continuously stirred the two ingredients together until the sugar had completely dissolved.  This only took about five minutes at most.  I funneled this into a small bottle, and chilled it in the refrigerator.  I went through some extra old junk mail, and catalogues, while that cooled down for a bit.  
About an hour later I picked some of my orange mint, and rinsed that off in the sink.  I placed about five to seven leaves in my pint glass.  Next, I squeezed the juice of my half lemon in the glass.  I poured in a shot of rum, a half shot of the simple syrup, and I mashed that all together.    Then I poured in a half shot of rose grenadine, added some ice, and filled the glass with some store brand wild cherry soda.  Mixed it up, added some mint, and a maraschino cherry for garnish.  
It's fantastic!! Not too sugary, not too fruity, not too rummy.  A great spin on an old favorite.  Hope you enjoy, and happy Thirsty Thursday! :)  Oh, and in case you're more a beer person, the glass I'm drinking this out of is from a brewing company called Twin Lakes.  It's brewed right here in my home state, Delaware.  I'm not a beer person, but Aaron is, and he says their beer is great.  Happy DIYing, chris.