Mint and Melon Mojitos

Name: Mint and Melon Mojitos
Yield: 10
Cuisine: American

Recipe: Reprinted from Getaway: Food & Drink to Transport You by Renee Erickson with Sara Dickerman. Photography by Jim Henkens. Published by ABRAMS.

Photo: Jim Henkens

May 07, 2021

Renee Erickson’s Mojito riff centers the sweetness of cantaloupe.

When Seattle chef and restaurateur Renee Erickson was growing up, her mom would stock the fridge with Tupperware “for everything, including cantaloupe,” Erickson writes in her new book, Getaway. The book’s recipes for food and drinks serve as transportation devices, taking readers to Erickson’s favorite places, including Rome, Baja California, Normandy, and even her Tupperware-filled childhood refrigerator. “We would pop the lid and get a big burst of melon aroma, and this cocktail works that summery smell into a clean, bright drink,” she say. Combining ripe melon with white rum, mint, and soda water, Erickson’s Mojito riff offers up a party-ready pitcher of goodness.

Ingredients

Yield:6 cocktails

1 medium, very ripe aromatic Charentais or cantaloupe melon, room temperature, peeled and cut into chunks (about 1 quart/1 liter)
1⁄4 cup simple syrup (more if your melon is not quite sweet enough)
Pinch of salt
1⁄2 cup picked mint leaves, plus sprigs, to garnish
1⁄2 cup fresh lime juice
12 oz. good-quality white rum, like Rhum J.M.
Soda water, to top

Tools:blender, pitcher, muddler, strainer
Garnish:lime wedge, mint spring

Preparation

In a blender, combine the melon, simple syrup, and salt. Buzz until smooth, then chill in the fridge until very cold, roughly an hour.

Chill six glasses in the freezer. In a large glass pitcher, muddle the mint and lime juice. Pour in the rum, add some ice, and stir until very cold. Strain the rum and lime mixture into the glasses. Into each pour ½ cup melon puree. Top each glass with ice and a splash of soda. Give each drink a quick stir with a mint sprig. Garnish with the mint and a lime wedge.