With the arrival of summer, parties are sure to follow! Nothing compliments an awesome summer do like a cool cocktail!  As with cooking, cocktails are an amazing blank canvas for any flavour combinations that you want to incorporate. My tip is to begin with a theme- what type of flavours are you and your party people in the mood for? Once you’ve decided on a theme, the possibilities are endless!

Today, I am providing you with one my favourite martini recipes- the Mojito martini!  The Mojito is a classic summertime favourite. The combination of mint and lime is cool and refreshing, and brings out memories of warm vacations in Latin countries.  My Mojito martini takes the flavours of the traditional mojito, and refines it into a martini for a sophisticated urban twist.

I hope you enjoy my Mojito Martini! Stay tuned for lots more food and cocktail ideas, to carry you through all summer long!

Lizzi’s Mojito Martini

You will Need:

3 Limes

4 sprigs of mint- about 25 leaves

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

4 oz white rum

2 oz high-quality silver tequila (such as Patron)

Method:

1. Rinse 4 Martini glasses with cool water, and place in the freezer to chill.

2.Zest the limes. Reserve for later.

3. In a small sauce pan, heat water and sugar over medium heat, to create a simple syrup. Add to this mixture the zest of the limes, as well as the juice of two of the limes, and a few mint leaves. Stir the mixture until the sugar is fully dissolved into the liquid. Pour the citrus-mint simple syrup into a jug or container, and allow to cool in the refrigerator (you may add some ice if you`re trying to accelerate the cooling process!)

4. Using a martini shaker, blend the rum, tequila, simple syrup, and juice from half of the third lime (save the other half of the lime; it will be sliced and used to garnish the martinis!). Pour into the chilled martini glasses. Place some fresh mint leaves directly into the drink, and garnish the glass with a thin lime wheel.

This recipe is easy to adjust, according to the number of people you are serving! Just remember that each drink should contain roughly an ounce and a half of alcohol, and a nice amount of mix. The simple syrup mixture is able to last in the fridge for over a week, so feel free to make a large amount in advance so it is on-hand when needed!

I hope you enjoy my Mojito martinis!