For me the best thirst quenchers are drinks with lemon and lime as a main ingredient and a touch of alcohol brings out the smiles. I fell in love with the classic Cuban mojito and found out how dangerously refreshing it is after a couple of drinks speaking Spanish went very smoothly. Ever since from ordering or making “moe-hee-toe” Mojito, the classic version or with many other fruity variations it never fails to satisfy with each sip. In Singapore we ran out of mint but we still had limes and fresh Lychees, so we improvised making our very own version of Lychito (recipe coming up) which became a hit till we ran out of Lychees, but the taste was set to experiment with other tropical flavors until even the herb garden had no mint left. Pineapple Mojito is another favorite, easy to make since this fruit is widely available and why not starring it in this terrific cocktail.

Preparing for one….it turned out into a whole jug!

The classic five ingredients; Rum, Mint, Limes, sugar can juice (fine sugar or sugar syrup) and soda (sparkling water). In the blender fresh pineapple and sugar syrup pulp.

If you like cocktails as much as I do, make your own sugar syrup and sweet & sour mix standby for quick mixing cocktails, it’s super easy, cheap and you can adjust the taste to your own liking. Sugar syrups are versatile in use too depending on thickness due to higher or lower level of sugar content, making it thinner or thicker depending the final usage for fruit salads, smoothies, cakes, cocktails, tea’s, drinks etc.

• For a standard sugar syrup; prepare by mixing 1 cup water with 1 cup sugar cane or fine sugar (I prefer to use 3/4 cup), bring on to a boil in a small sauce pan and stir to dissolve and let it cool.
• To infuse sugar syrup with flavors is by removing the pan from heat add handful of mint leaves let it cool down completely. Then remove all the mint leaves, leaving them in will spoil easily,  use the mint syrup immediately or store in refrigerator for at least two weeks.
• The subtle aroma of infused syrups will give that enhanced flavor complementing your drink or dish with an intriguing note. Try other flavors by adding a stick of cinnamon or vanilla pods to boil along (with 2:2 ratio sugar and water) and leave it in while cooling down,  pour everything into a resealable bottle or container  for later use with other cocktails, smoothies, iced tea’s, fruit salads, or baking recipes. Give it a good shake and store in the refrigerator.
• For an easy sweet & sour mix as used with mixing margarita’s (aka as bar mix); just remember 1-1-1-1 ratio, that’s 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, 1 cup lemon juice, 1 cup lime juice. First boil the water and sugar, stir to dissolve then take the pan from the heat and add the lemon and lime juices. Stir to combine let it cool down, pass through a sieve before pouring into a resealable bottle or container, give it a good shake and refrigerate. Eventually you may alter the level of acidity instead of 1 cup to 1/2 cup or 3/4 cups interchanging ratio of lemon and lime to your own taste and liking.

Muddle the lime, mint and sugar to extract and blend the flavors, add ice and soda.

Add a pineapple parts in the glass or on top as garnish, pour and serve.

Pineapple Mojito straight up with ice or serve with straws to stir and sip!

Tip: For single serving using a shot or jigger, bar tool, click for bar terms and measurements on the highlighted links. 1 shot equals 1 1/2 oz (ounces) 1 shot equals 4.5 CL (centiliters) 1 shot equals 45 ml (milliliters) 1 shot equals 3 tbsp (tablespoons) Equipment: beside using a blender to mix and whiz drinks, a muddler is the tool for making mojito and caipirinha cocktails, it is like a pestle to mash/muddle fruits, herbs at the bottom of a glass in order to release their flavors and blend them together at the same time. For more information click here on my affiliate link for an overview of various muddlers to compare.

Pineapple Mojito

It’s hot in Brasil, the game is on and we are on fire!!  Pineapple Mojito straight up with ice, Cheers!!