Cranberry-Mojito

Cranberry Mojito

Celebrate the Holiday Season with a crisp and refreshing Cranberry Mojito. This take on a classic mojito uses cranberry simple syrup to add a tart/sweet cranberry flavor to the cocktail. It’s perfect for your next holiday party.

WHAT IS A MOJITO?

A mojito is a traditional Cuban punch made of white rum, sugar, lime juice, soda water, and fresh mint. It’s a cocktail that is perfectly balanced between sweet and tart.

A classic Cuban Mojito uses turbinado sugar instead of simple syrup and muddles the mint with the sugar. Doing this releases the essential oils in the mint. Adding lime juice softens any bitterness in the mint and balances out the sweet sugar.

Rather than muddling the mint into granulated sugar, this cranberry mojito uses a simple syrup to get the tart flavor of the cranberries into the cocktail. The mint is then muddled with lime juice. The result is a refreshing, minty mojito with the tart, sweet flavor of cranberries. 

Making the cranberry simple syrup rather than muddling fresh or frozen cranberries allows us to get maximum cranberry flavor into the cocktail, yet maintain the pretty pink, clear color.

For The Simple Syrup:

  • 8 ounces fresh cranberries
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup granulated sugar

For The Cocktail:

  • 20 fresh mint leaves
  • 4 tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice
  • 4 ounces cranberry simple syrup
  • 4 ounces white rum
  • Ice cubes
  • 4 ounces sparkling water
  • Mint leaves, lime slices, and small, fresh cranberries as garnish

Make The Cranberry Simple Syrup:

  1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the cranberries, water, and sugar. 
  2. Bring to a boil.
  3. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the mixture for 15 minutes until the sugar is dissolved and the cranberries begin to burst. Use the back of a spoon to pop the berries once they soften.
  4. Set the mixture aside to cool before straining the mixture through a fine mesh sieve. Use the back of a spoon to press as much liquid from the mixture.
  5. Save the cooked berries for another use.

Make The Cocktails:

  1. Divide the mint leaves into two tall glasses. 
  2. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of lime juice into each glass.
  3. Use the end of a wooden spoon or a cocktail muddler to muddle the mint and lime juice together until fragrant.
  4. Pour 2 ounces of the simple syrup and 2 ounces of rum into each glass. Stir.
  5. Fill the glass ¾ full with ice cubes.
  6. Pour 2 ounces of sparkling water over the ice cubes.
  7. Garnish with slices of lime, fresh berries, and mint leaves. Enjoy.