Blueberry Mojito (Original Recipe)

 

Again, it's not hard to make a simple modification to a classic cocktail and make it very impressive to your guests. Blueberry syrup gives a Mojito a kind of bramble quality with berry flavor and beautiful purple color. Otherwise this recipe remains true to the original with the exception of powdered sugar for the mint garnish. It's a New Orleans-style flourish that I do when I have the sugar handy.

• 2 oz. lightly aged rum (Rhum Barbancourt 4-year-old statemet used)
• 1 oz. lime juice
• 1 oz. blueberry syrup
• club soda
  
• 10 mint leaves
• mint sprig garnish 

In a shaker tin, muddle 10 mint leaves in blueberry syrup. Add lime juice, rum and ice and shake. Pour into a Collins glass full of fresh ice and top with soda, stirring gently. Garnish with the mint sprig.

Blue Mountain Cooler

 

This drink has a great look! It's not exactly blue, on account of my making natural blueberry syrup, but it looks appetizing as hell! It is sweet, like most coolers, and fresh. I figure that you could use just about any white spirit in this cocktail, but rum and the Blue Mountains of Jamaica are part of this drink's gimmick. I'm glad that there's Jamaican rum in the Plantation 3 Stars blend.

Of course you can buy blueberry puree or syrup. Actually, I'm a fan of blueberry jelly in cocktails. But in case you want to cook a syrup, here's how to do it:

Add a half cup of fresh blueberries to 1/4 cup water and 1/2 cup fine white sugar to a small saucepan. (Save some berries for the drink itself.) Heat on medium heat while stirring and breaking up the berries. Once the mixture liquefies, turn the temperature down to low and stir occasionally for ten minutes. Remove from heat and strain (still hot) through fine mesh to remove the peels and store in an airtight container for one week. 

Here's the recipe for the cooler:

• 2 oz. light rum
• 1/2 oz. triple sec
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1 tsp blueberry syrup
• club soda
• fresh blueberries
• lemon slice

Combine liquors, syrup and juice in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled Collins glass full of fresh ice. Top with club soda and stir gently. Garnish with fresh blueberries and the lemon slice.