Virgin Mojito mocktail recipe
Fresh mint, bright lime and chilled soda built for a long, properly cold drink.
Method: Muddle · Glass: Collins glass · Time: 5 minutes · Difficulty: Beginner
Ingredients
- 10 fresh mint leaves
- ¾ oz fresh lime juice
- ½ oz demerara syrup
- to top chilled soda water
- to fill crushed ice
How to make it
- Put the mint, lime juice and syrup in a Collins glass.
- Press the mint two or three times—enough to release its aroma, not enough to shred the leaves.
- Fill the glass three-quarters full with crushed ice and stir briefly.
- Top with cold soda water, then lift once from the bottom with a bar spoon.
- Crown with more crushed ice and add the mint sprig and lime wheel.
Garnish
A slapped mint sprig and lime wheel
Why this balance works
Lime and syrup do the real balancing; the soda is there to lengthen the drink, not to make it sweeter. Start with the three-to-two lime-to-syrup relationship, then adjust only if your limes are unusually sharp. The result should finish dry enough that the mint still reads as fresh rather than candy-like.
Technique to keep
Mint is easy to overwork. A hard muddle bruises the leaf and brings out grassy, bitter flavours. Treat it as an aromatic: a few gentle presses are enough. Add soda last, and stir only once, because rough stirring is the quickest way to knock the life out of a highball.
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