"mojitos" news and stories

Love chocolate and mojitos? The two can come together for a delicious summer drink.

I saw a recipe in my Williams-Sonoma Entertaining Cookbook for a Blended Mojito and thought it would be a fantastic way to say "Hasta luego!" to the summer (or "Bienvenidos!" to an Indian Summer). Blended with ice, it works as a refresher. However, it's a mojito.

For as long as I could, I tried to stay away from the mojito craze that swept bars and cocktail parties across the country for the last few years. Part of the reason is that I consider myself "allergic" to anything too trendy, and if you weren't drinking a mojito, who are you? Well, you should all know by now that mojitos are soooo 2006. In fact, if you're caught drinking a mojito, you'll be ridiculed for having been living under an overturned martini glass for the last two years. With the popularity of mojitos gone, I am now starting to enjoy the drink.

Not that I would ever turn down a real mojito, but if for some reason I had to eat a dessert instead of drinking a cocktail, I'd love this Mojito Cupcake, from food blog Vegan Yum Yum. The recipe in on the blog post, but as a summary, the cake is a modified version of the golden vanilla cupcake recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. Soymilk was infused with traditional mojito flavors, mint and lime juice, rum and lime zest were added to the batter, and the frosting wass flavored with dark rum. The natural garnish is, of course, a wedge of lime (though a sprig of mint would be pretty, too!)

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• Restaurant reviews: Z Square in Harvard Square and Mike's in Davis Square.
• This week's recipes: Stir-Fried Vegetables; Key Lime Pie; and Mojitos.

It seems cigars aren't the only luxury Cuban product that have been all but unavailable in the States. Until recently one couldn't get Havana Club rum in the U.S. Now Bacardi is relaunching the storied spirit as a premium brand.

Havana Club got its start in the thirties and was exported to the U.S. and elsewhere until Castro took over Cuba in 1960. At that time, the government took possession of the plant and began to manufacture the spirit. But Castro lacked the recipe to produce the true Havana Club.

Ramon Arechabala, whose family first created the rum, is quoted in The Miami Herald as calling the government's version "undrinkable." It was widely exported elsewhere, but unavailable in the U.S.

While I'm fascinated with the international trademark case that cleared the path for Bacardi, I can't stop thinking of mojitos for some reason.

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