Watermelon Mojitos (Mojito de Sandia): Salud! and Happy July 4th!

My favorite warm weather cocktail is the mojito. Done right, it is refreshing, lightly tangy, slightly sweet, crisp and oh-so cooling. The key to a great mojito is in the muddling--too little muddling and you have a flavorless mint salad in a glass but the right amount of muddling releases all of the flavor of the ingredients and turns it into something special.

Although a simple, traditional lime-mint-rum mojito is my normal choice, it is fun to play with different flavors and ingredients such as this Watermelon Mojito or Mojito de Sandia from Rick Bayless. Add some blueberries and watermelon stars for garnish and you have the perfect cooling libation for a festive July 4th. 

Rick Bayless says, "If a standard-issue mojito weren't refreshing enough, one with muddled watermelon in the minty mix shoots it right off the charts. Hot summer weekend, sun beginning to set, backyard, friends. You get the picture. You need about 3 pounds of watermelon to yield the 4 cups of fruit you need for these drinks."
 
Watermelon Mojito (Mojito de Sandia)
From Fiesta at Rick's
(Makes 8 12-ounce drinks)

8 large sprigs of fresh mint
4 cups cubed seedless watermelon—3/4-inch cubes are perfect here
1/2  cup Simple Syrup
Ice cubes (you’ll need about 2 quarts)
2 cups white rum (I like D’Aristi rum from Yucatan)
1/2 cup lime juice
Sparkling water or club soda

 

Set out 8 tall 12-ounce glasses.  Into each glass strip off the leaves from a single sprig of mint—you’ll need about 10 leaves for each drink—and top with 1/2 cup watermelon cubes.  

 

Divide the Simple Syrup among the glasses (1 tablespoon - 1/2 ounce per glass).  Use a muddler (or the handle of a wooden spoon or a long-handle ice tea spoon—though neither is anywhere near as effective) to crush the mint and watermelon, releasing their flavor into the syrup—the more muddling, the fuller the flavors.   

Fill each glass with ice.  Measure in the rum (1/4 cup - 2 ounces per glass) and the lime juice (1 tablespoon - 1/2 ounce per glass).  Use a long-handle ice tea spoon to mix everything together.  Top off each glass with a little sparkling water or soda and you’re ready to serve.

Notes/Results: The subtle watermelon flavor partners well with the lime and mint to make this drink like summer in a glass. I used a little local Thai watermelon and reduced the recipe to make a couple of servings. Since my watermelon was nice and sweet and I like my drink on the tangy side, I just used a little dash of agave in the glass--when you muddle it with the fruit and mint, before the ice is added, it doesn't harden and clump up and mixes right in. My sister-in-law posted a photo of these "watermelon wands" by Weelicious on her Facebook pageand I thought they would make a great drink garnish. Fun, and the extra fruit added to the muddled watermelon makes this count as one serving towards your "5-a day"--therefore making this cocktail almost a health food. ;-) I will make these again.

 

Salud! It's the theme at I Heart Cooking Clubs--so go to the post to check out the delicious Rick Bayless beverage recipes that everyone tried this week. 

Have a safe, healthy and happy Independence Day!