When I was a bartender I was never once asked to make a mojito. If I had been, I would have had no idea what the customer was asking for. Those were sad times. Now it’s the rare bar that doesn’t have some type of mojito on their specialty drink menu.

Today there are so many variations to the original minty-lime drink. It can be adapted to any season. One of my personal favorites is the pear mojito, which I’ll wait to enjoy till the fall. Since it’s summer, today I went with watermelon. I have had watermelon mojitos in restaurants where the watermelon was muddled along with the lime and mint leaves. This is an acceptable approach, but I find the bits of melon sucked up through the straw a bit unsettling. I prefer to use a puree.

I make my mojitos with agave nectar. It’s sweeter and less glycemic than sugar, and, as it’s already a liquid, it doesn’t need to be dissolved first. If you can’t find it or would prefer not to use it, superfine sugar or simple syrup will work well too.

Recipe: Watermelon Mojito

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: none
Serves: 1