Memorial Day always gets me outside in the back yard grillin’ with a cool drink in my hand. This weekend I will be enjoying a Mojito when grilling. For the last couple of weeks my guilty pleasure has been Mojitos made with fresh mint found here on the Fresh by Northwest campus. I never think about Mojitos until the mint starts going crazy and then I am happy for the reminder. The mint’s flavor is so fresh and full of life I find myself adding more and more mint every time I mix a batch.

Fresh Mint from the Fresh by Northwest campus

I removed any sugar from the recipe a couple of weeks ago and started using the Paul Newman lemonade because the juice is sweet enough. I muddle the mint right in with the rum and nothing else.  I realized that is the part I like the best when the mint is initially infused with the alcohol. The smell the mint and rum makes before the citrus gets involved is divine.  The alcohol breaks down the herb very nicely, like a tincture.  I’m looking for other herbs to mix with tequila or vodka.

Mojito perfectionists will tell me this is not a Mojito because I have customized the recipe a bit. I thought of my fresh mint mojitos when I read Kerri Conan’s post on markbittman.com about mint juleps, the minty cousin of the mojito that uses bourbon instead of rum. Kerri also muddles the mint right in the booze. I’d be interested in hearing your drink recipes involving fresh mint. Share your favorites over at our Facebook page.