Remember the herb garden? Well, y’all, that little mint plant has gone wild just in time for mojito season. Nashville summers get hot, which means a great mojito recipe is a must.

Last year on our trip to New England we stopped at a local restaurant for lunch in Cape Cod, where I had the most refreshing mojito. Now that summer is in full swing I’ve been craving a light but satiating drink go-to, and in an effort to recreate that yummy New England cocktail this fresh watermelon mint mojito was born.

This mojito recipe is easy, quick, flexible and oh so refreshing on those hot summer days. Jimmy is usually a whiskey on the rocks type of man, but even he likes this mojito!

I hope you enjoy.

Recipe

• Serves: 1 drink
• Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup watermelon, chopped into small pieces
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh mint
• 1-2 tsp sugar, honey or simple syrup
• 1 oz rum (one shot glass full)
• 1 can sparkling water
• squeeze of fresh lime juice
• fresh mint for garnish
• lime for garnish

Directions

1. Add watermelon, chopped mint and sweetener to a single serve blender and puree. If you don’t have a blender you can muddle watermelon and mint. Here is a good explanation of how to muddle.
2. Pour puree into a serving glass. Add a few ice cubes.
3. Add to the glass rum and squeeze of lime, then fill to the top with sparkling water. Stir to combine (or if you’re fancy enough to have a cocktail shaker you can use that, I sadly have not reached that level yet but do feel like I’m heading in the right direction).
4. Garnish with fresh mint, a couple small pieces of fresh watermelon and a slice of lime.
5. Enjoy!

Tips & Tricks

• Mojitos are classically made with rum, but you can really use any clear alcohol. I prefer gin, so I usually use that instead of rum.
• If you do not like the texture of pulp, you may want to muddle the watermelon and mint instead of pureeing it.
• Sweetener is optional in this recipe, the watermelon gives a natural sweetness without any added sugar. If you do want it a little sweeter, either sugar, honey or simple syrup will work.
• I use a watermelon flavored sparkling water, lime is good too. You can use any flavor of your choice, or just plain old sparkling water.