Sharkbait’s Cocktail of the Week: Put the Lime in the…Collins?

Man Fridays before a long weekend suck huh? I don’t know about you guys but today is going to drag. In keeping with the warm weather theme (as well as the actual weather) I’ve gone and made a classic that I’ve been surprised I haven’t made before: a mojito!

Surprising isn’t it? I know. For some reason I never really think about mojitos when thinking about rum based cocktails. I tend to stick to daiquiris or tiki rum drinks and I’m afraid I’ve been missing out by neglecting this classic.

Because it is a classic, I’ve decided to go original on this. I used the recipe from The Gentleman’s Companion, which comes from Sloppy Joe’s Bar in Havana:

Put several lumps of ice into a 16 oz collins glass, toss in 1 tsp sugar or gomme, insinuate a spiral green lime peel about the ice, turn in 1 1/2 jiggers of Bacardi; white, or Gold Seal, and the strained juice of 1 small green lime—not a lemon. Stir once, fill with really good club soda and garnish with a bunch of fresh mint. .. . If for a lady, use grenadine instead of sugar.

The scent is not what I was expecting. I get some lime from the peel that is sticking out of the top of the drink, and the mint garnish is fragrant as mint usually is. I was thinking and expecting more rum, since all that is in here is rum, lime juice and soda (more on that in a second).

The flavor is cool and refreshing, which is most excellent this time of year. After about a half second, the lime starts to take over, adding a citrus-y sour flavor that is pleasant. That lime dominated flavor stays pretty constant, until you get down towards the end. About halfway through the drink starts to sweeten up a bit from the sugar. Of which, is a much slower dissolve than using simple syrup. Which, If I’m being honest I would have thought to have used. The result here is like a multi layered drink that goes from sour to sweet, which is different but nice. I get very little of the rum though. I kinda wish there was more here. Though to be fair, it does make it a bit easier to go down on a hot summer day.

The only thing that I would change is completely my fault. The soda water needed to be bubblier. Though, how can I know that soda water would checks notes start to go flat after a day. I mean it’s kind of insane how fast soda water starts to turn. Sorry, didn’t mean to go on a slight tangent there, but I was a little disappointed in the little carbonation that I was able to get from what I had.

Don’t get me wrong, I very much enjoyed this version of the mojito. I just wish my soda topper hadn’t gone off. I’ll attempt this again more in the summer, when I make sure all my ingredients are fresh and/or sealed.

(Banner image courtesy Matthew Tetrault Photography)