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Trying to concoct that perfect Mojito for the Beach trip I'm taking soon. What better way than to visit my neighborhood mojito making establishments in Adams Morgan for a little homework and ideas.

Habanna Village, Basso, Rhumba, Grill from Impanema......I really love my neighborhood by the way. :P Oh and good old Google.

Classic Way:

Sugar or simple syrup

Lime Juice

Mint

Mull

Cubed ice or crushed

Light Rum + Soda water

Finally Sprig of mint and Cane of sugar

Options:

Limeade: With Limeade concentrate + Limes and Lime Juice and a little sugar. I've found this way enables you to have a sweeter Mojito and easier to make at a party. As long as you get the Mint stems mulled right it's d@mn good, plus prevents scurvy!

Sugar: Try with Dark brown sugar, possibly with dark rum as well to give it a murky green goodness. Drink in dark room, with dark chocolate perhaps? I've heard it called a "dirty Mojito"

Hemingway: Instead of Soda water substitute with Champagne, Ok I'll call it sparkling white wine you snob.

Bitters: Add a splash of Angostura to add zing to it.

Blueberries: Muddle instead a lime or lime juice, but Blueberries. Garnish with. This will freak out all Cubans I swear.

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I happened upon excellent mojitos at Bangkok Joe's down at the Harborfront. Quite nicely priced, and they went down awfully fast, so we ended up with "several" rounds! If you're in that neck of the woods after work, or even out for a stroll on a weekend afternoon, I heartily recommend them.

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All this summer bar banter has me musing about my new fav potent potable: CAIPIRINIA make with Brazilian cachaca, mushed limes, cracked ice and sugar.

Any good sources for either a well-made caipirinia or the main raw ingredient (cachaca)?

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I am not an authority on mojitos or most other "fancy pants" mixed drinks (apologies to Messrs. Brown and Thrasher -- no denigration of their fine talents intended), but I can say that at Ceiba they not only muddle in tons of mint into their mojitos, they also use freshly squeezed sugar cane as the sweetener.

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the keys to the killer mojito:

the quality of the mint

made from scratch each time (pre-making any part of the drink is cheating and the taste will prove it)

sugar or sugar cane - not simple syrup (the shaking of the the drink will melt the ice sufficiently, using simple syrup would add too much water)

the mint to lime ratio, i would argue that you need two to three lime quarters, and 8-10 clean mint leaves - skip the stems, leaves just taste better.

the propper muddling time - at least 60 seconds

the propper shake - no lazy weak wristed wiggle, but a proper my-arms-will-be-tired if i keep this up shake

by that definition not many places hit the mark.

edited for spelling

Edited by starfish
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made from scratch each time (pre-making any part of the drink is cheating and the taste will prove it)

sugar or sugar cane - not simple syrup (the shaking of the the drink will melt the

Good one. I have one exception. Not better, different.

I always like the taste of Morrocan tea, where the leaves are boiled with sugar and sugar is added later. I think making a Mojito simple syrup is fine and is a compelling flavor just like the tea. There's less shaking so less water thrown. Also, I'm not one who likes to chew on mint leaves. So I endorse using a mint simple syrup. For a little more bite, add mint bitters. You can make the mint bitters pretty easily through maceration or buy them from Fee Brothers in New York.

I am making another round of bitters this weekend and will post a recipe once it's tweaked.

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I like the idea of a mint simple syrup. The leaves don't bother me too much, but after having a party and lazily leaving all the mojito glasses out overnight ... man, that mint turns a nasty brown and makes clean-up that much more fun.

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When I'm home, and my mint patch is in full force, I make mine from scratch. But several years ago, precisely BECAUSE my mint was in full force, I made a mint simple syrup, so I could have the drinks anytime, and it made it so much easier when entertaining. Now, I pretty much only use the simple syrup, except when at the beach or whereever and have fresh mint out the back door, to use.

I was on a campaign to have the restaurant I work at serve them this summer. They said 'too much trouble." So I made up a batch of mint simple syrup for the bartenders, showed them what to do, and now it's our best selling drink, particularly on the rooftop. The manager, as a matter of fact, just today told me someone recognized him and stopped him on the street and said "OMG! When did you start serving Mojitos? they are fabulous! I am telling everybody!"

So, I guess they are happy with me... :P

Edited by simdelish
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Todd Thrasher is the coolest name.

End of Story.

Don Rockwell is one of those fancy-pants names.

Nouveau Verbe

Thrasher vi "To mix a great drink"

Conjugaison:

je thrashe

tu thrashes

il thrashe

nous thrashons

vous thrashez

ils thrashent

<<Thrashe-moi une boisson.>>

<<Il thrashe bien!>>

And yet!

I'm not sure I've ever had a better drink than Derek Brown's Manhattan at Agraria - surely one of the most beautiful places in the country to enjoy a world-class cocktail. If Todd is turning a labor-intensive, cutting-edge eye towards the future of mixology, then Derek is casting a reverential look back to the roaring glories of the past. Paradoxically, Todd is pushing his envelope foward in a traditional setting, and Derek is paying his humble hommage in the hippest of locales. Both artists are different, both are great, and both are blazing their own paths toward stardom.

Cheers to both of you guys,

Rocks.

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Non. :unsure:

Ya know, I looked it up and you're right, boisson is a feminine noun. Mea culpa. But that revelation is strange to me because...I'm a native French speaker. I'm still a little puzzled as to why I've heard "un boisson" my entire life. I have to spend the next few nights checking every word I (think I) know. Oh, and though this is unrelated, surely the DR.com will share in my enthusiasm: tomorrow night, I've got a date with 2 bottles each of Dominus and Insignia.

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Ya know, I looked it up and you're right, boisson is a feminine noun.

Remember: fishes have dicks, but drinks don't.

UN poisson, mais UNE boisson

Cheers!

Rocks.

And here's another thing: It's 2006. Why do I see a message flash up for about one-tenth of a second when I "boot" my brand new cutting-edge Dell computer that says, among other things, "Series M0531?" When's the last time you turned on your TV and had illegible computer codes blinking at you before seeing anything of use?

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Also, TenPehn mojitos are sissy-bottom and Asian in name only.

Add me to the Atlantico faction. Nicely muddled mint with a stick of sugar cane--and with the essential alcoholic kick to cut the sweetness. Unlike Ten-Penh's, it has a nice ass.

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"No."

When I walked into The Passenger last night, the first thing I saw were Derek and Tom Brown together, working a relatively full bar in an otherwise empty lounge on a cold Monday night. After all the publicity each has gotten, you'd think it would have been anti-climactic; but it wasn't at all - it was like seeing Cal and Billy Ripken take the infield for the first time.

I really wanted a Mojito last night, because I had just read through this fun little thread (you should, too, as it parallels the rise of Todd Thrasher and Derek Brown). So after I shook hands with both bartenders, I took a seat and asked Derek, "Can you make me a mojito?"

"No. But I'll make you something better."

So I sat there and watched him make an incredibly complex drink, a Queen's Park Swizzle ($10). I'm still not sure of all that went into it (it speaks volumes about my cocktail knowledge that I'd never heard of this classic drink before), but it was better than any mojito I've ever had - much more complex and interesting, with savory flavors and spice aromas to counterbalance the sweetness.

A great drink that perhaps doesn't belong in the "Mojitos" thread, but I have to say it was a superb alternative.

It looked something like this.

Cheers,

Rocks.

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Add me to the Atlantico faction. Nicely muddled mint with a stick of sugar cane--and with the essential alcoholic kick to cut the sweetness.

Seeing this thread bumped up reminds me how enjoyable the mojito was that I had Cafe Atlantico a couple of months ago. I'm not a big fan of sweet drinks, but I was with a friend who specifically wanted to go there for mojitos, so I tried one out. They do have a nice balance, and I loved the stick of sugar cane.

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