cocktails

completely agree on the mint front - not tried a mint julep but i love mojitos... how hard are they to make? anyone ever tried to make a homemade one?


is it really this simple: (http://www.cocktailmaking.co.uk/displaycocktail.php/585-Mojito):

3 shots white rum
2 teaspoons brown sugar
half lime(s)
mint leaves
??

i could have sworn mojitos have a mixer in them but maybe not. also tips for the white rum? bacardi OK?

Soda water is the mixer you're thinking of. If you're going to use a white rum my suggestions would be Appleton or Traveller's. That new Lamb's white rum is also decent. I'd avoid regular Bacardi because I find it has a harshness that can be masked by a very sweet mixer (coke or pineapple maybe) but isn't great in less sweet cocktails.

Generally I would use a light golden rum for mojitos though. Dunno how traditional that is, but it's my preferred taste. Havana Club 3 is pretty widely available and I've found it to be good for this kind of thing.

I also sometimes add a splash of angostura bitters across the surface of the drink. I first saw it done in Barcelona and it allows you to increase the sugar content of the drink whilst still retaining an element of dryness. A lot of bars in Barcelona seem to use a brown (demerera?) sugar syrup, rather than solid sugar. I guess you could use regular simple syrup or gomme, but maybe you'd want to compensate by then using a rum with a slightly stronger molasses flavour?

I have generally found that if the cocktail seems to be not quite right, just add more rum the next time round, and after two or three drinks the problem will somehow have solved itself.

benw said:

completely agree on the mint front - not tried a mint julep but i love mojitos... how hard are they to make? anyone ever tried to make a homemade one?


is it really this simple: (http://www.cocktailmaking.co.uk/displaycocktail.php/585-Mojito):

3 shots white rum
2 teaspoons brown sugar
half lime(s)
mint leaves
??

i could have sworn mojitos have a mixer in them but maybe not. also tips for the white rum? bacardi OK?

Click to expand...

So, put off by the expense of Triple Sec I'm going to make some myself! I've ordered some dried bitter orange peel from US Ebay, will report back.

Following this recipe which uses half vodka and half brandy as the base spirit but you can use just one of them.

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/...-triple-sec-curacao-for-cocktails-recipe.html

So, i finished off the DIY orange liquor and it's gorgeous.

I followed the recipe above but used less sugar as per the comments on the page. I used a light brown sugar which has coloured the resulting liquid to a dark brandy-ish colour. I sampled it against the triple sec I already have and I'd say home-made is nicer, a much stronger and sweeter orange taste and that slight hint of burnt sugar or caramel from the brown sugar rather than white.

I'm going to do a totally clear one with a vodka base and white sugar next, triple sec style. Maybe some different spices beyond cloves too... (Wicked xmas present also and not too expensive with a bottle of duty free vodka)