Muddle with Care

I was born to muddle. And no, I’m not talking about confusing issues and messing things up (although I have a propensity for that, as well). I love crushing stuff up for drinks and seeing what the results are. I don’t know where this desire came from… probably some deep-rooted childhood stuff. Perhaps it had something to do with destroying sand castles or jumping in puddles.

I even went out and bought a $40 bottle of Bacardi Rum because it came with a muddler. Then I started making Mojitos, first the traditional kind, before adding raspberries and other fruit. I had an original recipe called “When All Else Fails” (to be featured on this site eventually), which included muddled watermelon and grapes, with tequila and lemon-lime soda.

Bacardi Mojito girls have mint on their breasts… I’ll muddle that, too!

Much like my fondness for rimming (drinks, that is), I’m willing to muddle anything: cucumber, mint, raspberries, strawberries, watermelon, mandarin oranges, apples, bananas… all the colours of the rainbow.

I’ve often heard jokes from professional bartenders that Mojitos are a dreaded bar order because they find muddling to be such a pain in the ass. I tend to disagree and find that muddling isn’t much of a problem for me. Granted, I’m not being asked to make more than say four Mojitos at a time.

There’s just something very satisfying about building a drink from scratch (for yourself or others) and the flavours that are released by muddling really enhance the taste and even smelling senses while enjoying a cocktail.

A list of things I plan on muddling in the future is practically endless – chocolate bars, sour candies, peanuts, cereal, etc. If you are interested in experimenting with muddling, you don’t even need to go out and get a muddler like I did. A spoon, some skill, and patience will do the trick and you’ll be thanking me later for inspiring you to go down this road!

Drink #97: Mojito

• 8 Mint Leaves
• 2 Lime Wedges
• 1 Tbsp Sugar
• 1.5 oz White Rum
• Top with Club Soda
• Garnish with Lime Wedge

Muddle the mint leaves, limes and sugar together, before adding ice, the rum and finally the club soda. A slight variation that many of my “customers” enjoy is to substitute the sugar and soda with 7-Up or Sprite. I still maintain that I make the best Mojitos in the land and I defy anyone to prove me wrong. It is on like Donkey Kong, yo!

Sip Advisor Bar Notes (4 Sips out of 5):
I still prefer Mojitos to be made with Lemon-Lime Soda, instead of Club Soda, but I had to try the original once for this site. Wait until the start of summer when I present my award winning (in my mind only!) Raspberry Mojito.