Strawberry Mojito Mocktail
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The temperature is climbing, and locally grown strawberries are starting to pop-up everywhere so it was the perfect time to dive into that tall mojito mocktail we’ve been thinking about all winter!
The classic mojito works great as a mocktail, with or without non-alcoholic rum. The combo of mint, lime, sugar and soda water is refreshing and easy to sip on wherever you’re enjoying the heat. The strawberries add a summer fresh twist to the classic that everyone always loves.
A note about sugar
Mojitos have sugar in them - it’s one of the five basic ingredients in a mojito so you really can’t avoid it even in a non-alcoholic version. Traditionalists would use granulated sugar, but in non-alcoholic cocktails you need every advantage in the flavour department, so we partnered with la Perruche, the best-known sugar cane brand in the world. Their raw brown sugar cubes, produced on Reunion Island off the coast of Madagascar, add a depth of vanilla and caramel notes to your cocktail that complements the zero proof rum flavours. It does require a little bit more elbow grease to muddle, but it’s worth it and we’ve got a great process for getting the best flavours out of your drink. Available on Amazon.ca and Amazon.com.
Non-alcoholic white rum
Not many companies make non-alcoholic white rum, but they are available online. This mocktail works better with the addition of zero proof rum, but is tasty without it so don’t worry about sourcing this if you can’t find it.
The secret to muddling a great mojito
Start with muddling the sugar and lime together. Modern recipes call for lime juice, but don’t do it. The trick to getting the most out of the lime is to chop it into small pieces and then don’t be gentle when you’re muddling it - you want to get the oils out of the skin, which adds a beautiful tangy bitterness to your drink.
In this recipe, since we’re using sugar cubes, we’re muddling with a little more pressure than usual to break up the sugar and really work the lime. The cubes are hard but then become meltingly soft once in contact with the lime juice - and then dissolve even further in the finished cocktail.
Add in the mint AFTER muddling the lime and sugar. Bruising the mint can matter, so spank a few leaves and tear in half before tossing into the glass with the strawberries and GENTLY muddling again. The lime is really the star of the mojito and the mint is just a secondary flavour (contrary to popular belief).
Add ice next and then pour in the optional non-alcoholic white rum over the ice to chill it. If you can, use larger square ice cubes as they dilute the mocktail slower and keep your drink cold longer.
You can top this off with plain club soda and give it a stir, but it’s also a lot of fun to use lime seltzer or sparkling water as it adds another hint of lime and doesn’t take away from the other flavours. Any brand or variety will work, but try and chill the cans before making your mocktail to keep the drink from warming up too much.
**Tip about stirring: stir with the spoon around the edge touching the glass and slightly pulling up, to get the brown sugar up into the soda.
You won’t regret the effort this drink takes - one sip will transport you to a Cuban beach!
Cheers!
Ingredients for two drinks
8 la Perruche rough cut cubes
1 whole lime sliced into small pieces (roughly 6 pieces per glass)
6 whole mint leaves
4 small strawberries, sliced
4 oz non-alcoholic white rum
1 can lime seltzer or sparkling water
Preparation
Divide sugar cubes and lime pieces over two highball glasses and muddle until the cubes are almost dissolved.
Spank the mint and tear in half, and divide across the two glasses.
Add the strawberries (2 per glass).
Muddle very gently to crush the strawberries and integrate the mint.
Add square ice cubes and pour over the zero proof rum if using.
Top with lime seltzer and stir from the bottom up until integrated.
Top with a mint leaf as garnish and a fun straw.
Strawberry Mojito Mocktail
Ingredients
- 8 la Perruche rough cut cubes
- 1 whole lime sliced into small pieces (roughly 6 pieces per glass)
- 6 whole mint leaves
- 4 small strawberries, sliced
- 4 oz non-alcoholic white rum
- Ice
- Lime seltzer/sparkling water
Instructions
- Divide sugar cubes and lime pieces over two highball glasses and muddle until the cubes are almost dissolved.
- Spank the mint and tear in half, and divide across the two glasses.
- Add the strawberries (2 per glass).
- Muddle very gently to crush the strawberries and integrate the mint.
- Add square ice cubes and pour over the zero proof rum if using.
- Top with lime seltzer and stir from the bottom up until integrated.
- Top with a mint leaf as garnish and a fun straw.
