fancy-ito recipe

Happy Memorial Day lovelies! Hope you are having a fabulous long weekend! For us it was really just a normal 2 day weekend because my hubs has to work today. We had a nice and relaxing couple of days. Worked in the yard, ate too many meals out, that kind of stuff. I love a weekend where there is nothing planned. The best! We  had a hysterical Saturday night dinner where we laughed so hard at Reagan. You know the kind of laugh where you get tears in your eyes? That was my hubs and I through most of dinner. She is a character to say the least. 🙂

I planted more mint this weekend because really you just can’t have enough and it is one of the things that I can take care of and it does well regardless of my lack of a green thumb.

I was going to save this recipe for my new “Cocktail Friday” that will be running every few Fridays, but I decided that it might be the perfect addition to your Memorial Day BBQ. This new cocktail concoction has been making lots of appearances in our house over the past few weeks! It’s a fun spin on a regular mojito and you know how we love our mojitos in this house! If you have had a chance to try the mojito recipe  that I posted a few weeks (month?) ago and loved it (what’s not to love?!), then this recipe will be another winner in your book for sure! If you haven’t had a chance to try that recipe, that is another perfect addition to a BBQ or any party, as well!

I always start off by washing the mint. I look closely for bugs too. Once there was a bug on one of my mint leaves. Par for the course when you are using mint from your yard but it still freaked me out and I am scarred and always search for bugs now.

I always start with my mint at the bottom of the mason jar. Each cocktail should have 5-7 large mint leaves, depending on how minty you want it. I always go big with mint. Go big or go home. It’s a good motto for lots of things, including mint.

Then I add a tablespoon of sugar. My hubs(the real mojito master) and I have decided that using regular white sugar is the only way to go. The organic sugar doesn’t seem to exfoliate the mint enough. Exfoliation of the mint is key!

Then it’s time to muddle. Muddling is another key thing. A mojito is not a mojito if the mint is not muddled. Lots of restaurants are confused on this. I rarely order mojitos when we are out because I am not a fan of getting a mojito with a couple whole mint leaves floating around. If you can’t taste the mint, it’s not a mojito! Clearly, this is a sore subject for me! Ha!

Then I add some lime. I add a half a lime into each cocktail. I always squeeze it before I muddle it. We have this fancy little squeezer contraption but honestly I think squeezing it myself is easier and you get less of a hand cramp.

Then I muddle the lime into the mint and the sugar. Really work it in there. Remember..the more you muddle, the better it’ll taste in the end. Trust me on this one! Muddle muddle muddle!

Now, here is the key factor that distinguishes my fancy-ito from a regular mojito. Raspberries and blueberries! Y u m! I add about 6-10 of each berry. You can eye it and again, it just depends on how berry-ful you want your cocktails! More or less would be just as tasty.

Then you muddle the berries into the mint, sugar and lime. Are you getting excited? They are looking so delish, aren’t they?!

The it’s time to add the rum and the ice! Obviously you can make these as strong or as weak as you want, but I add 1/4-1/2 cup of rum to each cocktail. If it’s been a long day or week, more rum may be necessary. You can be the judge of that one.  🙂

Then I fill the jars with ice.

Then I fill the rest of the jar with soda water.

I add another squeeze of half a lime and another half tablespoon of sugar at the end.

Then put your lids on and get ready to shake shake shake~do do do~shake shake shake! The little presidents and I always sing that song when we shake things around the house!

Make sure you have super cute straws to stick in the cocktails and cute cocktail napkins too!

And you are finished! Woohoo! Time to enjoy! You could make a bunch of these ahead of time for a party or small dinner get-together and keep them in a drink bucket full of ice or the fridge, depending on how many people you are having. We typically make a bunch ahead of time. This saves the bartender aka my hubs, a lot of time during the party and that way he’s not a slave to making cocktails all evening! It’s also fun to make a bunch of mojitos or f a n c y-itos in mason jars and take them with you to a party. We do this sometimes and the cocktails are ALWAYS a huge hit!

I hope you love the f a n c y-ito as much as I do! I think you will! If you aren’t into the berries, then be sure to try my hubs’ recipe for an original mojito! Also, if you are off booze(pregos, this is for you!), you can make these as a faux-jito as well. Just don’t add the rum and add extra soda water. The f a n c y-ito and the regular mojito recipe are just as delish in faux version. I drank a lot of faux-jitos when I was prego with Reagan! Hope you have a lovely Memorial Day Monday! Freedom is not free and we could not be more grateful for all the men and women who fought/fight for our country. We appreciate them more than words can express.