Photo credit: Logan Walker
What’s the difference between a classic mojito and this passion fruit mojito?
A classic mojito is the Hemingway of cocktails—lounging at a café all afternoon, enjoying the warm Havana breezes: simple, sublime, and quietly reserved.
This passion fruit mojito, on the other hand, is the endearing young ingenue who sweeps into the café just as the sun is setting, all color and laughter and effortless excitement. Suddenly, the drink you thought you knew is making your head spin. She is radiant. Effervescent. She glances your way, and you find yourself ordering another. Somehow, she convinces you to dance.
Vacation in a Glass
A classic mojito is simply mint, lime, sugar, rum, and soda. That’s it. Clean, light, and refreshing, it’s a drink that feels like summer.
But a passion fruit mojito…now that’s summer on a beach in Jamaica.
Sure, there are lots of fruity varieties of mojitos—strawberry, pineapple, coconut, mango, etc.—but the passion fruit mojito is different.
For one thing, passion fruit isn’t just sweet. It’s also tangy, tart, aromatic, and almost floral. That unique profile, contrasted against the cool mint and lime, is what makes the drink so surprising and delicious.
Plus, passion fruit is exotic. You don’t see passion fruit in the grocery store every day, and many people have never even tasted a fresh one. It’s difficult to find the right words to describe passion fruit’s unusual aroma and flavor. Tropical perfume? A burst of golden sweetness? Sunshine tang? One thing’s for sure—it’s like nothing else you’ve tasted!
Not only does this passion fruit mojito smell and taste divine; it also looks gorgeous. Mint sprigs swirling in an amber pool of sunlight. This refreshing summer cocktail looks, smells, and tastes like vacation in a glass.
Cue the music…
“Passion fruit mojitos. Bring the passion.”
Passion Fruit Mojito
(makes 1 serving)
Ingredients
12 mint leaves*
1.5 oz white rum **
1.0 oz lime juice
1.5 oz passion fruit puree
0.5 oz simple syrup
club soda
mint sprig for garnish
Instructions
1. Add mint, rum, lime juice, simple syrup, and passion fruit puree to shaker. Muddle.***
2. Add ice and shake for 15 seconds.
3. Dirty pour into highball glass.
4. Top with club soda and stir. Garnish with mint sprig.
*Pro Tip: Don’t skimp on the mint. Twelve mint leaves may seem like a lot for one drink, but it takes a lot of mint to balance the strong flavors of passion fruit.
**Pro Tip: Pick a good rum. We like using Utah’s local Salty Beach silver rum, but a fantastic alternative is Diplomático Planas aged white rum from Venezuela. Rich with caramel and vanilla undertones, Diplomático Planas makes a great complement in this passion fruit mojito.
***Pro Tip: Don’t over-muddle. The reason we muddle mint in a cocktail is to break the cell walls of the leaves, releasing the aromatic oils inside. Place the leaves in your shaker or sturdy glass and gently press them for 3-5 seconds with a muddler or the back of a spoon, using circular motions. Avoid the temptation to grind your mint into tiny pieces. You don’t scraps of shredded mint floating in your cocktail.
Besides being a fun and flirtatious variation on a classic, this passion fruit mojito is terrific at tempering the heat of spicy dishes like Thai curries or Caribbean jerk chicken.
Eat well and drink responsibly!