Tag: mojito

Woven from history

All This Rum! A New Tiki Bar Cocktail (Williams-Sonoma Taste)

This post comes to us courtesy of writer and mixologist Warren Bobrow.

Ever since I sat as a Rum Judge at the 2010 Ministry of Rum tasting competition in San Francisco, the whole direction of my spirits-writing career has changed. I used to only write about wine.

Then a flash went off: wine ...

This man, Warren Bobrow knows what he is talking about.

Rum is a spirit woven from history. Flavors exist within rums that don’t reveal themselves in other lighter-coloured liquors. I’m a fan of rums aged in used wooden casks that formerly held bourbon or cognac. The caramelized notes of smoke, butter and bittersweet chocolate reveal themselves beautifully with the white flower aromas of freshly crushed cane sugar.

I'm from the Anglophone Caribbean. I grew up with rum shops and run ponche. My grandfather owned one of these rum shops where hard-working fishermen would gather at the end of the day to socialize and play dominoes. It's the West Indian version of a sports bar.

I had forgotten about rum until Warren re-introduced me to it. Over the summer I've been experimenting with various cocktails including the mojito and the ti punch. To ensure I did things right I ordered – and grew – Cuban mojito mint from Florida. I don't know if I've been sold a bill of goods but the mojitos are delicious.

Thanks, Warren.

July 4th, 2011 - Mojito Mint

I love mojitos. I love the taste of rum, mint and lime blended together over crushed ice. In the past, my wife and I have experimented with making them at home. We ha??ve never made it taste quite right and recently I found out one reason. We had made our mojitos with spearmint. That’??s the most common type of mint found at the farmers market. Recently a friend of mine who travels to Puerto Rico quite often told me that I needed a special mojito mint. I thought she was kidding but out of curiosity I poked around on Google. Well … she was right. I found a place in Florida that shipped me the exact mint used in Cuba for making authentic mojitos. I am going to enjoy my summer!