The entries for this months MxMo (hosted by The Wild Drink Blog) are flying in. We’re about to hit 12pm here at GMT, so about time I posted my own recipe I think.

Twisting classics is one of my favourite past times. As bartenders we are very lucky to have products that have been expertly crafted to both a high quality and consistency.

With that it mind, it isn’t surprising to find that an Old Fashioned tastes great with both rum and Bourbon… and Tequila and brandy for that matter! But for a twist to genuinely improve upon its classic, it not only needs to taste better, but also stand up against decades of preference and popularity. Just because a twist on a Manhattan tastes, to me, better than any version of an original, can  I really judge it to be superior given all of the pre-prohibition history, drinking stories and cult advocation that goes hand in hand with such a landmark cocktail?

Perhaps it isn’t actually possible to improve upon a classic at all? Maybe the golden era of all of our best loved drinks provided plenty enough development time for the bartenders of yesteryear to tweak and perfect?

However, as I said in the original MxMo announcement post, today we have far more tools, ingredients, resources and quality products to play with than any classic forging bartender of the early 1900’s, let’s exploit it (with a polite tip of the hat to Cox, Craddock, Vic, Thomas et al.) and see if we can’t take things forward!

Apple & Vanilla Mojito – Twisting the Mojito

• 50ml South American Anejo Rum (Pampero, Diplomatico, Santa Teresa) infused for one week with one vanilla pod.
• 25ml Fresh lime juice
• 12.5ml gomme
• 8 mint leaves
• Cloudy apple juice

[Check out the method here]

This drink consists of two major twists over the classic Mojito. Firstly – I like to use a richer, sweeter rum than the light cuban affair, so I have chosen a turbo aged S. American variety and thrown a split vanilla pod into it. Secondly – I have chosen to top up with a nice dry apple juice, rather than the traditional soda.

The reason I like to use a richer rum is because it provides more length and complexity to the drink. A Mojito can sometimes suffer from a short sharp finish, but a caramel/vanilla/coconut rum can couple beautifully with the freshness of the mint for a delicious mint humbug finish. The reason that I like to use apple juice is because, when coupled with the rum, it can give the effect of sugar can juice flavours in the drink. Most bartenders only have room for the slightest splash of soda, by using apple instead, the drink has more body, natural sweetness and balance.

If you like a Mojito, give this a go and please let me know if you prefer it over a classic.

In genuinely preferring a twist over a classic, the biggest obstacle is often convincing ones self that popular trends, no matter how historically romantic they are, aren’t necessarily for everyone!

Cheers!

PS. My favourite song to dance the twist to is Sam Cooke’s – Twistin’ The Night Away!

UK iTunes Store link

296 post views