A perfectsummer drinkis bright, refreshing, and easy-drinking. A perfect summer drink is alsoeasy.If you’re making cocktails for a group on a sweaty Saturday afternoon, you don’t want to mess with too many fiddly ingredients. Simplicity is your friend—a blender-ful at a time. And for those moments, we present: theFrojito.
The dominant flavors of amojito—mint, lime, rum—are all suited to warm weather; it’s a Cuban drink, after all. But given that classic mojitos require muddling, they’re a bit tedious to make for a crowd. So we took the idea of a mojito, threw it all into a blender with ice, and whizzed up a frozen version.
Haven’t thought about a mojito in awhile? It’s probably time to re-acquaint yourself. Over the course of the cocktail renaissance, the mojito developed a reputation as a somewhat unserious drink—alcohol for people who don’t like the taste of alcohol. (I wasthrilledto order mojitos at any bar in the late aughts as a newly minted 21-year-old. Bring on the Bacardi Limón!)
Almost any wildly popular drink eventually earns a backlash; and bartenders sometimes balked at making rounds of mojitos, with all the muddling and straining and disposal of mint bits that they require. They felt that the mojito didn’t have the gravitas of amanhattanor the sophistication of anegroni.
And with its popularity came plenty of downright terrible versions. When your strip mall chain restaurant is serving mojitos, they’re not exactly muddling to order, and there’s an awful lot of sugar to mask the taste of rum. Anything with “mojito mix,” anything with “mojito flavor”—beware.
但是真正的酸橙汁和新鲜薄荷是thos之一e perfect flavor pairings—up there with lemon and honey, or apple and cinnamon—and, together with rum and soda, make for one of the most refreshing drinks in existence. A well-made mojito on a hot day is a delicious thing.
So it stands to reason that the mojito could find another life as afrozen drink. Anyone who’s ever been to a beach resort knows thatrumis a staple of frozen cocktails—daiquiris,piña coladas, you name it. The mojito, like the daiquiri, is a drink with deep roots in Cuba. In fact, the frozen daiquiri was invented in Havana in the early 1940s, with the advent of countertop blenders. Why not apply the same treatment to its close cousin, with mint? And while a classic mojito has soda water, here we’re achieving that dilution through the ample water, in the form of ice, blended right into the drink.
How to make the best frozen mojito
Let’s start with the non-negotiables. Fresh lime and mint are important here. Figure roughly three limes and half a cup of mint leaves for every two drinks. If you’ve got a backyard mint plant growing out of control, this is a great way to use up a bunch. (Save the prettiest sprigs for garnish.)
White rum gets you a drink that’s closest in flavor to a classic, Havana-style mojito. But frozen mojitos are stellar with richer, weightier dark rum as well. (Or gin, which takes this in the direction of a frozenSouthside. We won’t stop you from making this with vodka. Or with a big pour of fino sherry...)
All that to say, it’s a forgiving template. We like the purity of flavor that comes from mint and lime as a duo. But if you toss in a handful of ripe pineapple chunks or fresh raspberries, it certainly won’t hurt. If you’re craving a tall, slushy mango frojito on a hot summer day, who are we to suggest otherwise? Some might call it a little silly; we’ll just call it a perfect summer drink.
