Bramble on the Bay
During the summer I love icy, cold cocktails that have some fizz. One of my favorites is the mojito. It’s light and refreshing and that fizz makes it a perfect summer drink. While I enjoy the classic which is just lime juice and mint, I love it when there’s extra fruit muddled in. I’ve made both in the past and used them as inspiration for today’s cocktail.
Like all the other drinks on Kitchy, this one uses fresh fruit, real herbs and great liquor because I believe the best cocktails come from the best ingredients. Sure, it’s easier to buy a mixer and take out all that extra work, but I’ve never been able to find a mixer that tastes good. They’re all too sweet thanks to the abundant amounts of sugar or have weird, fake aftertastes because of the artificial flavoring from ingredients I’ve never heard of. So, I put in the extra time and get great tasting cocktails as a benefit. But a couple months ago I discovered a new mixer that’s delicious, and even better, makes a really good drink. The company behind this mystery mixer? Fittingly it’s called Be Mixed.
Be Mixed is a company that believes in substance rather than flash. They have a margarita mix, a ginger lime and my favorite: their cucumber mint. It’s cool, refreshing and makes a really great cocktail, which is why I’ve used it several times and even created the Easy Street with it. See, this cucumber mixer not only has subtle cucumber notes, it also has a nice minty aftertaste which immediately made me think of a mojito. So, that’s what I made. But instead of your classic mint and lime juice, I went with mint and blackberries.
I chose blackberries because they’re a super sweet berry that pairs well with mint and adds a natural sweetness to the drink. See, Be Mixed doesn’t use any sugar in their mixers. They’re naturally sweetened with monkfruit, a vine-ripened fruit from Asia that’s full of antioxidants and vitamins and a little stevia extract. So, the mixers aren’t too sweet, but they’re full of flavor. I added the berry to enhance those flavors while making the drink slightly sweeter at the same time. The combination of the two makes a delightful mojito that’s sweet but not sicky sweet since there’s no sugar or simple syrup. And since blackberry season is just getting underway, this is one cocktail I’ll be sipping for awhile. I can take it with me to the beach, the pool or even my own backyard, and I plan on doing just that.
Bramble on the Bay
Ingredients:
- 8 mint leaves, torn
- 4-5 blackberries
- 2 ounces Be Mixed Cucumber Mint
- 2 ounces light rum
- 1/2 ounce club soda
Directions:
- Place the blackberries and mint leaves in a cocktail shaker. Add the Be Mixed mixer and muddle all together. Add the rum and ice and shake vigorously until chilled, about 20 seconds.
- Strain into a rocks glass filled with crushed ice. Add the club soda, garnish with a sprig of mint and a blackberry and serve.
Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. Be Mixed provided me with the mixers for recipe testing. As always, any opinion expressed is my own and is not influenced in any way by the manufacturer/PR firm as I only review products that I have personally tested and endorse.
