Raising The Bar: Muddling It Over

by Keith Waldbauer, Posted May 30th 2008 @ 4:00PM

Nothing signifies late spring/early summer better for me than to see a bartender muddling mint for a cocktail. The light, clean flavors of mint bring a certain delicacy and refreshing quality to a drink, whether it be in the iconic Mint Julep, the omnipresent Mojito or any number of classic or new creations. On a hot summer day, nothing beats a cocktail elevated with the crisp flavor of mint.

Given its fragility, mint is an easy herb to abuse. I've been to a number of bars and home parties where the bartender or host absolutely punish the mint, leaving a bitter, limp cocktail that loses all its intended charm. Truth be told, a great Julep or Mojito is harder than you'd think. Personally, I struggled for a long time with mint cocktails, simply because, like most people, I didn't understand what I was dealing with.

In order to get that clean, crisp mint flavor, a light hand is essential. Like everyone else, I bludgeoned my mint the same way I did with fruit. What this does release bitterness, obviously not what you're going for. I've since discovered there are two ways to get the flavors you're looking for from mint:

1. Simply place a couple mint leaves in the palm of your hand and clap your hands together. This releases the oils and the aroma.
2. Place the amount of leaves you want in the bottom of a mixing glass (or rocks glass if you're making Juleps) and either lightly tap a few times with your muddler or actually stir it around the glass.

Okay, now that we know how to properly deal with mint, let's make a cocktail. This recipe comes from Audrey Saunders, legendary bartender at The Pegu Club in New York City. It is an elegant riff on the Mojito and a classy alternative.

The Old Cuban

1 1/2 oz Bacardi Anejo rum
3/4 oz simple syrup
3/4 oz lime juice
2 dashes Angosutra bitters
2 oz Champagne
7 mint sprigs

Muddle 3/4 of a lime with simple syrup in the bottom of a mixing glass. Clap mint sprigs between your palms and drop into glass. Measure rum and pour in, followed by the dashes of bitters. Fill mixing glass with ice, then gently shake. Using a Julep strainer, strain drink into a champagne flute. Top off with champagne and enjoy.

Filed Under: Raising the Bar, Drink Recipes, How To, Drinks
Tags: champagne, cocktails, Mint, Muddling, Raising the Bar, RaisingTheBar, rum, spirits, spring, summer

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

5-30-2008 @11:21PM Deb Bixler said... It has been a long time since I had a mint julep. This brings back old memories. My yard mint is growing like crazy now. Other uses for garden mints include cutting a chiffonade (thin strips) and adding it to whip creams or puddings. http://www.WowYouAreReallyLucky.com
Thanks for a cool recipe.
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5-31-2008 @4:07AM Dr. Electro said... I grew up on a dairy farm. In our yard we had spearmint, wintergreen and peppermint. We had elderberries by the bushel. We had utterly huge honeysuckle vines and if the cows didn't get into them we had enough honeysyckle nectar to make at least one batch of jelly. We had cherry trees, apple trees, peqch trees and apricot trees. We didn't have pecans but our neighbors always did and we could barter for them. Our watermelons were the qabsolute best in the county.

Thing is, I grew up eating and drinking things made with fresh mint, including lamb chops with our own homemade mint jelly. Now, I can't eat mint at all but I sure remember how pleasing it was when I was a kid to grab a mint fizz, a minty lemonade or minty iced tea. Mom even created miny hot chocolate in the Winter.

I don't dare drink an Old Cuban, either for health reasons but it sounds like a terrific Summer treat. Happy hour anyone?
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6-02-2008 @9:32AM Brian said... I tend to agree with the muddling turning to murdering drink ingredients. A local bar known for its many types of mojitos (ugh) has a tendency to crush any and all ingredients to within an inch of their life, causing most drinks with muddled items to become salads where you're sipping as much of the drink as you're taking the bits of mint out of your teeth.

A recent food blog entry blamed it all on that Bacardi Mojito commercial with the bartender attempting to drill through the bottom of the glass along with the dance beat.
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