Every year, I get to travel to San Juan for work. It’s a tough job, I know, but someone has to do it 😉 I typically stock up on local rum when I’m there so in anticipation of my last trip, I decided to make room in my liquor cabinet and finish up an old bottle of Bacardi. I thought I would get in the island spirit by making a mojito and after spotting some beautiful rhubarb at my local farmers’ market, settled on a rhubarb mojito. The ingredients are the same as for a traditional mojito, with the addition of a little bit of nutmeg and a rhubarb simple syrup in lieu of plain sugar.
To make the rhubarb simple syrup, chop 2-3 small stalks of the pink fruit and boil them in a small pot with 1 cup of sugar, 2 cups of water, half a teaspoon of nutmeg and a quarter of a teaspoon of cinnamon. If you have vanilla sugar, add a pinch of that as well! Reduce to a simmer once it starts to boil and cook for 5-7 minutes or until the sugar is completly disolved. Let cool completly before straining into a container and storing in your fridge where it can stay for up to one month. The left over sugar soaked rhubarb make a delicious topping for plain yogurt or even a simple ice cream.
Make the mojito like you would any regular mojito… in the bottom of a glass, drop a pinch of nutmeg, the zest of one lime, 6ish mint leaves and one tablespoon of lime juice. Muddle well so that the mint leaves get nicely bruised and broken. Then add 1 oz of white rum and 2 oz of the rhubarb syrup. Mix well and top with crushed ice or soda water (lime perrier works really well in mojitos too). Garnish with mint or a slice of rhubarb and enjoy!
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