Blueberry Mojito Royale

It’s Thursday morning, but it feels like Friday afternoon, and I’m blackout!!!

Just kidding. But I am in Maine, and it is GLORIOUS. The air smells like salt water and pine trees, and I’m just sitting here drinking fresh coffee, looking out at the ocean, and generally feeling rather princess-like.

In other great news, I have almost nothing on the docket this afternoon besides a leisurely hike, a long nap, and a half hour or so of observing my roommate splash around in the pool. I’ll probably make my way to my friend Annie’s house for tea later, before hurrying home to take a little pre-cocktail hour swim in my bathtub. At some point, I might even attempt to play with my younger siblings, who seem to be warming to me. Joy of joys!

If anyone wants to come over later, I’m giving out free hugs.

Yes, I’m aware that my extreme happiness is obnoxious, and no, I can’t tone it down. I’m alllll kinds of hearts and rainbows right now. Get on my level.

Adding to my overall Maine excitement is the fact that my very good friend Lily is getting married on Saturday, and I couldn’t be more pumped. I’ve known Lily my entire life through Northeast Harbor, but our friendship was further solidified when we went to college together, where we lived in the same dorm for two wonderful years…

For the sake of brevity and self-preservation, I shall not go into details about our college bonding days, so I’ll just say that we’ve seen each other at our best and worst (Lily mostly at her best, me mostly at my worst), and I love her a LOT.

For the record, I’m also quite fond of Lily’s fiancé. In addition to the whole tall, dark and handsome thing, Alex happens to be smart, funny, and nice. Like, really, really nice. And he somehow managed to infiltrate our group of Maine friends, which is not an easy task, as we’re essentially a giant pack of mean girls (and boys) with a zero tolerance policy for outsiders. Alex can sit with us.

As you can see, I’m this wedding’s biggest fangirl. Sorry I’m not sorry.

So, because I’m feeling celebratory (and have unparalleled access to Maine blueberries), I decided to make a festive cocktail in honor of true love, summer and excessive happiness. Allow me to introduce you to the Blueberry Mojito Royale.

You’re gonna like this one, people.

Honestly, I think I could drink this delightful concoction exclusively for the rest of my life and be 100% content. (That’s saying a lot, since I’m rather attached to margaritas. And jello shots. And vodka.)

Blueberries, fresh mint, lime and a sprinkling of sugar in the raw get muddled together, mixed with a generous shot of rum, and then topped with chilled champagne. Sure, I’ll drink anything with a champagne floater, but this cocktail is particularly magical. It strikes the perfect balance between tart and sweet, with a refreshing minty finish and the perfect amount of fizz. Moneymaker.

If you’re in the market for a signature cocktail to serve at your upcoming summer soirées, this is it, folks. It’s very pretty, and you can easily make the blueberry mojito base in bulk and then top individual glasses with champagne when it’s time to partay.

The fancy blueberry “swizzle sticks” you see in pictured are simply blueberries threaded onto bamboo skewers, which takes all of 45 seconds. They’re obviously not mandatory, but unless you hate compliments, you should probably just go ahead and make them. Cool?

Get after it.

p.s. I like a stiff drink, and this luxurious libation is pretty much straight booze with some blueberries and mint thrown in for good measure. You’ve been warned. Drunk in loooooove.

Blueberry Mojito Royale: (Makes 1 serious cocktail)

Ingredients:
1/3 cup blueberries (plus extra for a fancy blueberry swizzle stick)
6-8 leaves fresh mint
1 tablespoon sugar in the raw (I’m into slightly tart cocktails, but feel free to add an extra teaspoon or two of sugar if you like a sweeter drink.)
2½ tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 ounces light rum
Crushed ice
2 ounces chilled Prosecco or champagne

Preparing your Blueberry Mojito Royale:

-Place the blueberries, mint leaves, sugar, and lime juice in a glass. (I recommend a 12-ounce glass or mason jar, but you can obviously use whatever you like.)

-Using a muddling tool or wooden spoon, muddle the ingredients in the bottom of the glass until the blueberries have released their juices. No need to pulverize them, people, lightly crushed will do.

-Fill the glass with crushed ice and pour the rum over. Give it a stir.

-Top with chilled  champagne or Prosecco and garnish with extra mint and blueberries if you’re feeling fancy.

Bottoms up.

Blueberry Mojito Royale

Author - Serena Wolf

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Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Yields: 1 cocktail

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup blueberries plus extra for a fancy blueberry swizzle stick
• 6-8 leaves fresh mint
• 1 tablespoon sugar in the raw
• 2½ tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 ounces light rum
• Crushed ice
• 2 ounces chilled Prosecco or champagne

Instructions

• Place the blueberries, mint leaves, sugar, and lime juice in a glass. (I recommend a 12-ounce glass or mason jar, but you can obviously use whatever you like.) Using a muddling tool or wooden spoon, muddle the ingredients in the bottom of the glass until the blueberries have released their juices.
• Fill the glass with crushed ice and pour the rum over. Give it a stir.
• Top with chilled champagne or Prosecco and garnish with extra mint and blueberries if you’re feeling fancy.

I’m thrilled to be a part of Food Network’s Summer Soirée Event this week. For more sexy summer cocktails, check out the amazing blogs below.

Jeanette’s Healthy Living: White Peach Sangria
The Heritage Cook: Refreshing Lime Coolers
The Cultural Dish: Pimm’s Cup
Virtually Homemade: Frozen Lime Margaritas with a Sangria Swirl
Weelicious: Strawberry Lemonade
Napa Farmhouse 1885: Cucumber and Sage Cocktail
Red or Green: Frozen Tri-Melon Cocktail
In Jennie’s Kitchen: Cantaloupe Lillet Sparkler
Poet in the Pantry: Pirate’s Booty Call
Elephants and the Coconut Trees: Watermelon Malibu Surf
Sweet Life Bake: Boozy Affogato
Devour: 5 Boozy Summer Coolers
Haute Apple Pie: Classic Mojito
Daily*Dishin: Blackberry Rum Shrub
Taste With The Eyes: Korean Soju Kimbap Bloody Mary
FN Dish: Sip Your Way Through Summer (Recipes)