Magical Mojitos

Hey kiddos, I'm back and comin' atcha with a can't-miss make-ahead mojito mix. (Try saying that 3 times fast!) Now we're not messing around here so I'm going to keep this short and sweet. Here's what you'll need. 

2 1/2 cups water
2 cups sugar
1 bunch of fresh mint
1 cup of lime juice
2 cups light rum
Club soda
Extra sliced limes and mint for garnish


Flavor Variations: Chinola, Strawberry, Blackberry, Mango

Step 1: Minty Simple Syrup: Toss the sugar, water, and mint in a pot and bring it to a boil. Let it boil for 2-3 minutes and then turn off the burner, cover the pot, and let the mint steep in the simple syrup for a half hour. 

While your simple syrup and mint are getting all cozy together, you can start in on the next step. 
Step 2: Limes: Grab about 10-12 limes and get to squeezing. You need 1 cup of lime juice. Sure, you can buy the pre-bottled stuff, but where's the fun in that? Plus you'll be missing out on a serious flavor punch. Squeeze the limes fresh, trust me on this one. 
Step 3: Put the Lime in the Coconut and Shake it All Up: Ok, I lied, there is no coconut....maybe a pina colada will be my next drink attempt. In any case, strain the mint out of your simple syrup and toss the syrup into a pitcher. Add in your 1 cup of lime and 2 cups of rum. Pop it all in the freezer until you are ready to serve. It shouldn't freeze, on account of the alcohol, but it may get kind of slushy. You can keep it there for several months in an air tight container and it will stay good. 
Step 4: Serve: Here you've got two options: Pitcher style or Individual. If you are going pitcher style, simply toss some extra lime slices and mint leaves for garnish into your pitcher full of mojito mix, and top the whole thing off with a good dose of club soda and some ice. 
If you prefer to serve the mojitos individually, you can set up a nice little bar cart or drink station where your guests can make their own. Just set out the limes, mint, club soda, ice, and mojito mix and let everyone assemble according to their own preference.
But if you want to blow everyone's socks out of the water....read on! (Or if you want to knock their socks off and blow them in out of the water)

If you are feeling super adventurous...and really, truly want the best mojito ever, you're going to need chinola, LOTS of chinola. (That's passion fruit to the folks back home. You might be able to find the pulp at a whole foods store.) About 15 should do the trick. Crack em' open and scoop out the goopy yellow frog eggs inside. Wait, did I just say frog eggs? I mean pulp, scoop out the chinola pulp. Can you blame me though? Chinola pulp DOES look like yellow frog eggs (and I should know, I spent half my childhood wading through a creek trying to catch frogs and raise tadpoles). Very tasty frog eggs though! Nature is weird. 

Toss the chinola pulp into your blender and give it a quick whiz. Then just strain the mixture to get rid of the seeds, and you'll end up with a beautiful canary yellow liquid, speckled with little flecks of black. Just gorgeous darling. Throw it in the fridge until you are ready to serve. Then when you are ready, toss the juice into your mojito pitcher or set it out for guests to add to their individual mojitos. 

If that smile doesn't convince you that she just made the best chinola mojito ever, I don't know what will. 
Cheers!