Blueberry Mojito

We were strolling through our local farmer's market on a beautiful Sunday morning--Heather with her parasol and I with my handsome vest and pocket square that I purchased that very morning from a shrewd young haberdasher--when we saw a carton of blueberries and dared to dream. Four dollars a pint?  Why that's nary more than a tuppence. "Will, don't you have a fancy muddler at home?" says my lovely wife. "Why yes I believe I do." We bought the blueberries and proceeded home to look for ways I could turn it into something delicious.

Scouring the internet for ideas, I arrived upon one for a Blueberry Ginger Mojito Pitchers recipe. It uses vodka instead of rum. On one hand, I like rum. It can be very refreshing as I have proven in my last few posts. On the other hand, I was beginning to run out of rum. I had a lot of vodka that was nice and cold from being in the freezer.

Blueberry Ginger Mojito Pitchers

adapted from foodnetwork.com

-Ingredients-

For the Ginger simple syrup:

-1/4 cup grated fresh ginger

-1 cup granulated sugar

-1 cup cold water

For the Mojito

-1 cup fresh blueberries

-1 lime, cut into wedges

-20-24 fresh mint leaves

-4 oz. ginger simple syrup

-4 oz. vodka

-5 oz. club soda

-Ice cubes

-Blueberries, for garnish

-Mint leaves, for garnish

-Directions-

For the ginger simple syrup:

Peel and grate the ginger and add it, together with the sugar and cold water, to a saucepan. Bring it to a boil and stir until the sugar dissolves. Cover and let steep for 15 minutes. Strain and cool in the refrigerator when done.

For the Mojito:

Add the blueberries, lime wedges and fresh mint leaves to the glass (or pitcher). Muddle with a wooden spoon so the blueberries are broken and the mint and lime release their juices and flavor. If assembling pitchers you can cover them at this stage and leave in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

When ready to serve, add the simple syrup, vodka and top off with club soda. Give it a quick stir and then pour into glasses with ice cubes. Garnish with a handful of fresh blueberries and a sprig of mint.

The recipe outlined below is for 2 tall glasses, but you can use the ratio to make pitchers (depending on how big your pitcher is, double or quadruple the recipe).

Combine the blueberries, mint leaves and lime wedges in the pitcher and muddle it in there with the back of a wooden spoon (or muddler). When you are ready to serve add vodka, ginger simple syrup and club soda. Stir and pour into glasses with a couple of ice cubes. Garnish each glass with some fresh blueberries and a sprig of fresh mint.

I tried making the first batch in a pitcher. I thought it worked out really well, but just for kicks I thought I would try to make it in the glass a few days later. As I suspected, the version made in the glass was a little fizzier that the pitcher version, ostensibly because it hadn't been jostled as much.

The ginger was something I hadn't considered adding to the cocktail, but once I tried it, I wondered why it hadn't occurred to me. It added a subtle burn to the flavor profile and a complexity to the drink throughout. It was a little more work to make the ginger syrup, but it paid off.

This drink goes to show you that vodka does not need to be banished to the winter months. It can--and indeed should--be enjoyed throughout the calendar year.

Commence the Infusion

I enjoy my liquor cabinet. Over the last couple of years, we've got it stocked to the point where we have most of the basic things that a bar ought to have. It's got your basic liquors: rum, tequila, vodka, gin, whisky. It's got mixers and liqueurs. It's got club soda and tonic water. I've got my angostura bitters; I try to keep my fridge stocked with ice, mint and fresh fruit. But there's one thing that I've done a few times that gives me a certain sense of pride and that is liquor infusion.

There are a lot of infusions that you can buy in a liquor store--Bacardi Limon, Absolut Citron, and so forth, but there is a certain sense of craftsmanship, accomplishment, and frugality to doing it yourself. I have a few mason jars that I got at the supermarket that I use for this. First I get a big old handle (1.75 L) of vodka. I usually go with something middle of the road like Smirnoff or Skyy; I would hesitate to use something of a higher quality like Absolut or Grey Goose because the infusion is going to mask its purity. Why pay more for a flavor you're just going to tamper with? Heather disagrees with that point but perhaps her palate is more discerning than mine.

After the Vodka is procured, I get whatever fruit I want to work with and put it in the mason jar with the vodka. If it's berries, I just leave them whole and let them sit for a week; if it's pineapple, I cut it into chunks and let them sit for a week and a half; if it's citrus, I slice it and let it sit for four days. After it infuses, take the fruit out and it's ready to go. There are some people more daring than myself who will infuse herbs and spices and a growing number of people who enjoy bacon infused vodka. There really is nothing more American than taking something unique to another culture, like vodka, and adding bacon to it. I suppose for people who dislike the blood thinning properties of alcohol, this is a perfect way to negate it with cholesterol. I don't feel comfortable doing that particular infusion myself but if I come across it, I'll try it. I'm always looking for new blog fodder.

I suppose part of the appeal of infusion is taking something very basic like vodka--by definition a neutral spirit--and adding a personal flair. The same principle applies to any liquor but I've stuck with vodka. I've infused vodka with strawberries, lemons, and pineapple, but the one that serves us best is raspberry. Heather has enjoyed my patented raspberry/lemon cosmos on more than a few occasions. They're delicious and have the added distinction of being unique in its core spirit.

A goal of mine is to be able to brew my own beer but finances really limit that one for right now. I would also love to be able to distill my own liquor, but my landlord tells me I need some sort of permit to keep several bathtubs of alcohol in the basement. I've just about had it with this guy's excuses. I think the next step is buying one of those giant jugs with a spigot on the bottom so I can throw a party and impress people with it. For now I'll have to be satisfied with only impressing myself.