Orange Mojito

At a glance

What stands out: Try a juicy orange mojito to help kick the winter blahs. Sunny citrus and bright mint will surely bring a sparkle to your day!

How long it takes: 15 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: muddler or spoon, pitcher, glasses
Servings: 4

Orange Mojitos

With juicy oranges, tart lime, and fresh mint leaves, combined with a splash of rum and lots of ice, we're sure you’ll want to stir up a festive pitcher of orange mojitos today! Invite a few friends over, find that reliable salsa playlist, and get ready to smile.

Did you know that mojitos are a classic Cuban cocktail? Reportedly Ernest Hemingway’s favored cocktail, a mojito is a refreshing highball consisting of lime, fresh mint, white rum, and soda water, served over lots of ice. Of course, there are lots of fun variations. We love a pomegranate mojito!

This sunny orange mojito is another exciting variation of the traditional cocktail. It’s guaranteed to brighten your day. And hey, it’s good for you. With all that orange juice, you’ll be taking in a bunch of Vitamin C, reliable to drive off all those nasty winter beasties.

(Like orange juice cocktails? Try our orange gin and tonic, blood orange mocktail, blood orange martini, or a beermosa!)

How it comes together

Juice the oranges. This is a simple cocktail with orange juice as the base. Use freshly squeezed orange juice if you can. It takes about a dozen oranges to make a pitcher.

Muddle. First, you’ll muddle four limes, cut into wedges, with a bit of granulated sugar. Then, add fresh mint leaves to the the lime/sugar mixture and muddle a little more. Gently bruise the leaves, leaving them somewhat whole. Try not to pulverize them. Muddling releases the scented oil and flavors your cocktails.

Don't have a muddler?

A muddler is basically a pestle for a bartender. You could use a thick wooden spoon, a small ice cream scoop, or a dowel.

Combine. Add the lime/sugar/mint mixture to a pitcher and stir in the orange juice and white rum.

Serve over ice. When you’re ready to serve your cocktails, add ice to a tall glass or wide goblet. Arrange orange and lime slices in the glass, and pour in the mojito mixture. Garnish with fresh mint. (If you prefer, the mixture can be strained first to remove the fruit and herb fragments.)

Serve your mojitos with poblano queso dip and crisp tortilla chips. Beet bruschetta with orange tarragon goat cheese and creamy kale bruschetta are great, too. Pretty much anything goes with this cocktail!

Cocktail Variations

• Make it a mocktail. You can easily omit the rum to make this a virgin mojito, or simply use a bit less rum, according to your taste.
• Add a sparkle. Top your cocktail with sparkling water or club soda to make sparkling orange mojitos.
• Use blood oranges. Make beautiful rose colored mojitos, using the juice from cara cara or blood oranges. A slice of blood orange also makes a dramatic garnish.
• Make mojitos for two. This recipe makes a pitcher of mojitos. If you like, halve the recipe to make two servings.

Keeping leftovers

Refrigerate: While it’s best served fresh, the mojito mixture will keep up to a week in the fridge, covered tightly.

Make-ahead tips: Juice the oranges up to a day in advance. Cut the limes into wedges. Wash the mint. Make sure you have plenty of fresh ice.

• Yield: 4
• Prep: 15 minutes
• Total: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 ¼ cups freshly squeezed orange juice (about 12 oranges)
• 4 limes, quartered
• ¼ cup sugar (more if needed)
• 1 cup loosely packed mint leaves
• ½ cup ( 125 ml) white rum (see note)
• ice for serving

Optional garnishes

• 4 orange slices
• 4 lime slices
• 4 sprigs fresh mint

Method

1. Squeeze oranges, and set the juice aside.
2. In a small bowl, muddle sugar and lime. Add mint and muddle again. Don’t overmuddle the mint leaves. Bruise but don’t pulverize.
3. Transfer the mixture to a pitcher and add orange juice and rum. Stir.
4. To serve, add ice cubes, mint leaves, orange and lime slices to tall glasses. Pour mojito over ice. If you prefer, strain the juice mixture to remove fruit and mint fragments before pouring it into glasses.

Notes

Make it mocktail: Make it a virgin mojito — simply omit the rum. You can also increase or decrease the amount of rum according to your taste.

Add sparkle: Top your cocktail with sparkling water or club soda to make sparkling orange mojitos.

Switch up the oranges: A slice of blood orange makes a dramatic garnish. you can make beautiful rose colored mojitos using the juice from cara cara or blood oranges, too.

Small batch: This recipe makes a small pitcher of mojitos (4 servings). If you like, halve the recipe to make two servings.