Mojito - Israeli Style

In the previous post I described a recent (last night) experience at Mezcal, an authentic Mexican restaurant and Tequila/Mezcal bar in Tel Aviv. At the end of the meal I was speaking with the chef and asking him where he buys ingredients that are characteristic of Mexican cuisinse yet hard to find in Israel, such as limes. The chef went back into his kitchen and came back with a bag full of limes, something special to get in Israel where limes seem to be in season for a week a year.

In honor of this gift of limes I thought I'd post a recipe for one of my favorite drinks, the Mojito, with an Israeli twist to it. A Mojito is Cuban in origin and traditionally consists of rum, lime, sugar, mint, and ice. After arriving in the US it became popular to add club soda, and most mojitos today are now made this way. I also prefer using club soda, and since moving to Israel I've made my own variations based on some local ingredients. Here's one such recipe.

Pomegranate Mojito

With pomegrantes just coming into season this seems like a good recipe to post

Ingredients
1-1.5 shots clear rum (high quality preferred)
2 spoons sugar or simple syrup (add more as you like)
Juice of 1 lime
Lots of mint - 2-3 sprigs
Pomegranate jewels and juice

Club Soda

Ice

Steps
1) Find a big glass (I like to have room for lots of ice in the drink)
2) Add the rum, lime juice, sugar, and mix well. Taste, and add more sugar or lime juice if needed. Add some of the crushed lime peel if you like.
3) Crush mint leaves from one sprig, add to drink and mix

4) Add a one second pour of pomegranate juice from either a crushed pomegrante or store bought juice. If you have an actual pomegranate add a handful of pomegrante jewels.

5) Pour a one second to second and a half count of club soda and top glass with ice
6) Crush the remaining mint leaves, add and mix well. Enjoy!

Mojito - Israeli Style