Nothing sings summer quite like fresh juicy peaches. Pairing the sweet peaches with ginger simple syrup introduces a lovely depth of flavor you’ll really enjoy.

I LOVE Mojitos!!

As we head into Labor Day Weekend, for some this will mark the end of summer. Not the case here in the Peach State however, where summer will carry us well into October. So while we’re still hanging on to sunny skies and juicy peaches let’s sip on a Peach Mojito shall we?!!

Mojitos are quite simple and easy to make.

The Classic Mojito contains fresh mint, lime wedges, and simple syrup that are muddled together then topped with white rum and a splash of club soda.

So crisp and refreshing…and kind of begging for some flavor inspiration in my humble opinion. My Mojitos typically include mint and lime, but then I like to add another fresh seasonal fruit like peaches, strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, cranberries, grapefruit…..

Then comes the simple syrup.

Perhaps the easiest way to infuse a layer of flavor that will delight your taste buds. For this recipe I simply add sliced fresh ginger to my sugar water and simmer for about 10 minutes. Once strained and cooled it’s ready to flavor your Peach Mojito or stir into iced tea or drizzle over pound cake.

The key to a good Mojito is all in the muddling (don’t worry if you don’t own a muddler, the end of a wooden spoon works well in a pinch). Muddling extracts all the juice and flavor from the fresh mint (or herbs of choice), lime wedges and seasonal fruit pieces. I add the simple syrup before muddling so the flavors marry nicely.

Then a nice shot of rum is poured into an ice filled glass (or not – these are quite delicious as Mojito Mocktails), topped with the muddled juices and a splash of club soda. With all the flavored sparkling waters on the market shelves we subbed bubbly peach water for the club soda. It was peachy perfection!!

It has been the summer of peaches for us! Perhaps because we’re home more and not traveling, we find ourselves at a local farmers market most every weekend. And when the peaches are this gorgeous how can you not bring home a sack full. You may recall a little Bacon Wrapped Bourbon Glazed Grilled Peach recipe we shared – before summer is officially over we’ll be sipping on a cocktail version of this recipe. I’m thinking a Grilled Peach Bacon Old-Fashioned ;)

Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday weekend. We’re planning to spread some chalk art cheer throughout our neighborhood, while sipping on Peach Mojitos! May your labors of love bring you joy. Cheers!

Don’t forget to follow us @LemonyThyme on Instagram and Facebook! And check out our latest TikTok videos and Pinterest boards too!

All my best, Libby

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Peach Mojito {with Ginger Simple Syrup}

Pairing the sweet peaches with ginger simple syrup introduces a lovely depth of flavor you'll really enjoy.

Course Drinks

Servings 2

Ingredients

For the Ginger Simple Syrup

• 1 2-inch piece of ginger peeled and sliced
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup water

For the Peach Mojito

• 1 fresh peach
• 1 lime
• 6-8 fresh mint leaves + two sprigs for garnish
• 4 ounces white rum
• 1 can peach sparkling water or club soda

Instructions

For the Ginger Simple Syrup

• In a small saucepan, simmer water, sugar, and fresh ginger for 10 minutes. Strain into a glass jar and cool.

For the Peach Mojito

• Cut half of the lime into circles and the other half into wedges. Cut half the peach into half-round slices and the other half into small chunks.
• In a tall glass, add 3-4 lime wedges, 6-8 fresh mint leaves, the peach chunks, 2 ounces simple syrup and muddle until juices are released from lime and peach.
• Fill two glasses with ice, add a lime round or two and a couple peach slices to each glass. Top each with 2 ounces of rum, half of muddled fruit mixture, and a splash of sparkling water (or to taste). Garnish with peach, lime and fresh mint sprig. Cheers and Enjoy!

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This cocktail dates back to the end of WWII when whiskey was in tight supply and liquor vendors insisted bar owners buy multiple cases of rum to each case of whiskey.

An overabundance of rum forced establishments to get creative and it was then that the Hurricane Cocktail was born.

Served from a “Hurricane” glass named and shaped after hurricane lamps. A souvenir hurricane glass (or two) come in handy when making this cocktail at home.

A combination of light and dark rums, passion fruit juice, orange juice, squeeze of lime, and grenadine syrup is served over ice in a tall ‘Hurricane’ glass. This drink is sweet like fruit punch and packs a punch too with generous amounts of rum. Cheers!

Don’t forget to follow us @LemonyThyme on Instagram and Facebook! And check out our latest TikTok videos and Pinterest boards too!

All my best,
xo Libby

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Hurricane Cocktail

This drink is sweet like fruit punch and packs a punch too with generous amounts of rum. Cheers!

Course Drinks

Servings 2

Ingredients

• 4 ounces dark rum
• 4 ounces light rum
• 4 ounces passion fruit juice or pineapple juice
• 2 ounces orange juice
• 2 ounces fresh lime juice
• 1 ounce grenadine
• 1 ounce simple syrup optional
• orange slices and maraschino cherries for garnish

Instructions

• Fill two tall glasses with crushed ice. Combine all ingredients in cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until chilled. Pour into ice filled glasses. Garnish each with orange slice and maraschino cherry.

The post Hurricane Cocktail a New Orleans Classic appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

What better way to celebrate than with a refreshing summery cocktail. The Painkiller Cocktail is a twist on Piña Colada flavors with dark rum, pineapple, orange and coconut finished with freshly grated nutmeg on top. A classic Tiki Drink every mixologist should have in their playbook.

We’ve come to love Tiki Bars, especially when you discover them in the most unexpected places, like hidden below the bustling streets of Chicago. Three Dots and a Dash, an underground tiki speakeasy, is a must visit if you’re lucky enough to be bar hopping in Chicago!

However, we were first introduced to The Painkiller Cocktail while vacationing in Key West. There was something about the laid-back vibe and relaxed island setting that paired quite nicely with this tropical rum drink.

Sitting in a courtyard sipping Painkillers while listening to the calypso sounds from the steel drums as colorful chickens strolled by without a care in the world.

The Painkiller Cocktail is made by combining dark rum, pineapple juice, orange juice, and cream of coconut in an ice filled shaker. Shake vigorously then pour into a crushed ice filled highball glass. The drink is topped with freshly grated nutmeg and garnished with fresh orange and pineapple. It is so smooth and refreshing and sure to ease you into a good mood.

No worries. No cares. Life is good. Cheers!

Don’t forget to follow us @LemonyThyme on Instagram and Facebook! And check out our latest TikTok videos and Pinterest boards too!

All my best,
xo Libby

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The Painkiller Cocktail

The Painkiller Cocktail is made by combining dark rum, pineapple juice, orange juice, and cream of coconut in an ice filled shaker, topped with freshly grated nutmeg. This cocktail is so smooth and refreshing and sure to ease you into a good mood.

Course Drinks

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Servings 1

Ingredients

• 2 ounces rum navy or dark
• 4 ounces pineapple juice
• 1 ounce orange juice
• 1 ounce cream of coconut not coconut milk
• freshly grated nutmeg
• pineapple and orange wedges for garnish

Instructions

• Fill shaker with ice. Add rum, pineapple juice, orange juice, cream of coconut and shake vigorously. Strain into a ice filled highball glass. Sprinkle with freshly grated nutmeg. Garnish with pineapple wedge. Cheers!

Notes

Cream of Coconut is not the same as Coconut Milk.  Look for Coco Lopez in your local markets with the cocktail mixers.

The post The Painkiller Cocktail appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

Key ingredients: fresh mint, limes, sugar, ice, rum, club soda and in this case blueberries.

Oh my.  How I love a Mojito.

Muddle lime wedges, mint leaves, and blueberries with a couple teaspoons of sugar.  For my Classic Mojito recipe I make a mint simple syrup. 

This time around I put the sugar straight into the glass with the lime juice and muddled away.  It dissolved quite well.

Fill the glass with ice, then add rum with the muddled mixture and give it a good shake.  Finish with a float of club soda.  The Blueberry Mojito tastes as refreshing as it looks.  Remember…. in mere minutes.

I thought it would be fun to learn a little more about the origins of this beloved cocktail.  As it turns out the Mojito was a way for Cuban farmers to get down their cheap (fire water) rum.  They’d add a little of this and a little of that (lime juice, mint, sugar cane syrup) until it was tolerable.  Here’s a fun article with a little more history on this captivating cocktail.

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Blueberry Mojito

Servings 1

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup fresh blueberries
• 1 lime cut into wedges
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 10 fresh mint leaves
• 2 ounces light rum
• 2 ounces club soda
• ice

Instructions

• Reserve 3-4 blueberries for garnish. Place remaining blueberries in tall glass or shaker with 2-3 lime wedges, juice of remaining wedges, sugar and fresh mint. Use a muddler or end of a wooden spoon and muddle until well smashed.
• Add ice and rum to shaker and shake. Pour into a tall glass and top with club soda.

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The crisp flavor of fresh squeezed Ruby Red Grapefruit and Lime are super refreshing.

I was on a mission to develop a new Friday Night Cocktail. 

This cocktail needed to represent Summer Thyme, because while I’m always excited about Autumn…I in no way want to rush through the last month of ‘official’ summer.

The vanilla simple syrup will appear in this kitchen again this fall….perhaps drizzled over roasted squash or pumpkin.  Yes, I said pumpkin.

I’m certain I get as excited about preparing a cocktail as I do drinking it. 

After assembling most of the ingredients I headed to our backup fridge in search of club soda, sprite, sparkling water or anything resembling a fizzy neutral beverage to top off our Mojito. 

There laying on it’s side on the top shelf a single bottle of Vanilla Cream Soda. 

I can’t make this stuff up.

I hope you’ll trust me on this one. 

Red Grapefruit, citrus, mint and yes, vanilla go really well together.  And when you add rum, the ingredients sing….

…like my girl on karaoke night.

TGIF!! Weekends are precious. 

Hope yours is filled with as much adventure and/or relaxation as you can stand.

I hope you’ll give this Red Grapefruit Mojito with Vanilla Simple Syrup a try. I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments below. Your feedback is so important to me (and keeps the cocktails shaking).

Don’t forget to follow us @LemonyThyme on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook!

All my best,
xo Libby

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Red Grapefruit Mojito {with Vanilla Simple Syrup}

Red Grapefruit Mojito with Vanilla Simple Syrup is the perfect seasonal segue. Citrus, mint and yes, vanilla go really well together. 

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

For vanilla simple syrup…

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2-3 vanilla beans
• 1 tsp. vanilla

For the mojito…

• 3 Ruby Red Grapefruits
• 1 lime
• 4-5 fresh mint sprigs
• 4 ounces white rum
• 6 ounces vanilla cream soda or club soda to top
• ice

Instructions

For vanilla simple syrup…

• In a small saucepan, combine water, sugar, vanilla beans and vanilla. Bring to a boil and simmer for 4-5 minutes until sugar is dissolved. Cool completely.

For mojito…

• Squeeze juice from 2 1/2 grapefruits. Cut wedges and sections from remaining half.
• In a tall glass add 4-5 grapefruit sections, 2-3 lime wedges, a handful of fresh mint leaves, 1 ounce vanilla simple syrup. Muddle gently. Top with ice, 2 ounces rum, and 2-3 ounces vanilla cream soda.
• Garnish with grapefruit wedge and mint sprig.

The post Red Grapefruit Mojito {with Vanilla Simple Syrup} appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

It’s Independence Day weekend and that calls for a new cocktail recipe to celebrate.

Kiwi Mojito {with Agave Syrup}. 

Shades of green with kiwi, lime and mint.  There’s nothing like a rum cocktail to transport you squarely into a holiday weekend.

I woke this morning to lightning strikes followed closely by roaring thunder.  It was awesome.  I’m a huge fan of thunderstorms, they’re akin to riding a rollercoaster for me, when my adrenaline is free flowing.

As much as I wanted to sleep in on this holiday weekend, Mother Nature had other plans.  So I counted the seconds between lightning bolts and thunder rumble.  Every second between a lightning bolt and thunder represents a mile (generally speaking), because light travels more quickly than sound.  Thanks to Siri for this tidbit.

Side note:  I first learned to count between lightning and thunder while watching a movie.  I think it was Poltergeist but I’m not sure.  I’ve googled numerous ways to try and confirm.  Can anyone help confirm this?

Counting thunder claps led to me slowly start planning out my day.  Get up (a good place to start), confirm indoor walking track is open, walk my daily minimum, get my toes done, then buy a few multiple-recipe ingredients at the grocery store and come on home.

Ugh!  Neither the website nor Facebook page said they were closed.

As of this week’s weigh-in, I’m down 55 pounds.  I’ve somehow managed to balance my love to eat, love to cook, love food photography…with my love of cocktails, like Kiwi Mojitos.

So when life throws a curve ball into my pre-planned day, I say no worries.  A break in the weather motivated me to make this ‘walk’ happen.  I’ve shared before that I’m a big fan of walking.  Never underestimate the benefits of moving.  No gym membership required (although good walking shoes are worth the money).

I followed the sidewalks around the CLOSED rec center.  They led me across the street to the high school and back up to the splash park.  When you’re desperate for steps you just keep walking….which delivered me to this place.  Seriously.  I had no idea this gem existed in the woods behind my bad-weather indoor walking center.  I sent a picture text to my walking buddy “your kids would love this place.”

It was a drizzling, spitting rain, bursts of downpours kind of day.  But these heavily wooded trails kept me mostly dry.

It’s hard to explain the feeling associated to discovering new walking trails.  Walking is when I download.  I love my walking buddies and I love my walking self.  I’m more of a listener than a talker when we group walk, but when I’m alone….I’m a talker.  Ha!

My rec center being closed today for the holiday weekend was a blessing.  I logged a three mile walk/hike in a new environment, with a dose of self-therapy.   I’ve now got a new favorite walking path with lots of personality.  And it happens to be very close to my favorite get-your-toes-done place.  Another reason to celebrate with a Kiwi Mojito {with Agave Syrup}.

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Kiwi Mojito {with Agave Syrup}

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 5 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 2 kiwi fruit
• 4-6 mint sprigs divided
• Lime cut into wedges
• 2 Tbl. agave nectar
• 4 ounces white rum
• Tonic or club soda

Instructions

• Peel kiwi. Add to glass with mint and lime wedges. Muddle.
• Add ice, agave nectar, rum and swizzle. Top with tonic or club soda.
• Enjoy!

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It’s Mother’s Day and on this year, also my birthday. 

I’m feeling doubly blessed. Enjoyed a wonderful lunch out with my family. 

Received many birthday wishes & calls from family & friends.  And now…now I’m sipping on a this gorgeous cocktail.  And it is good.

~ Strawberry Mojito ~

6-8 fresh strawberries
3 Tbl. sugar
1 lime
2-3 sprigs fresh mint
2 ounces white rum
club soda

Slice strawberries, sprinkle with sugar, squeeze juice of half a lime.  Allow to macerate for at least an hour.
Place in glass with mint leaves and 2-3 lime wedges.  Muddle.
Add ice, rum and top with club soda.
Enjoy!!

Don’t forget to follow us @LemonyThyme on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook!

All my best,
xo Libby

The post Strawberry Mojito appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

From the minute I first spotted fresh cranberries in the market I knew a Cranberry Mojito was in my future.  The perfect holiday cocktail or mocktail.  Here’s how we make them.

Fresh cranberries are just begging to be turned into simple syrup.  The process is similar to making homemade Cranberry Sauce.  Fresh cranberries, sugar and water simmered into a sweet-tart love fest.

For our Cranberry Mojitos you’ll want to simmer the cranberries until they just begin to burst.  Then allow them to cool completely before straining off the cranberry simple syrup, which can be made a day or two in advance.  I reserved the cranberries to add to our cocktail.

To make the Cranberry Mojitos you’ll want to muddle mint and lime slices in a glass.  You can use the handle of a wooden spoon or you can invest in a muddler, like mine from OXO.  Then add rum and pour into an ice filled glass. Top with simple syrup, club soda, and reserved cranberries.  Enjoy!!

Recipe note:  I saved the cranberries from our simple syrup and added several to our glass.  Pretty and edible.

Recipe note two:  Cranberry Mojito Mocktails are also delicious.  A festive drink the whole family will enjoy.  Simply omit rum.

Be sure to check out our other favorite Mojito recipes below.

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Cranberry Mojitos

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

For cranberry simple syrup…

• 4 ounces fresh cranberries
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water

For cranberry mojito…

• ice
• 2-3 lime wedges
• 10 mint leaves
• 2 ounces rum
• 2 ounces cranberry simple syrup
• 2 ounces club soda

Instructions

For the cranberry simple syrup…

• Place sugar, water and fresh cranberries in a small saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat, for 10 minutes or until cranberries just begin to burst. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. Can be made 1-2 days in advance. Strain syrup and reserve cranberries.

For the cranberry mojitos…

• Add lime wedges and mint leaves to a glass; muddle. Add 2 ounces of rum.
• Fill separate glass with ice and 8-10 reserved cranberries. Pour in muddled lime, mint, rum mixture. Add 2 ounces or more of simple syrup. Top with Club soda.

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Just a little Memorial Day message to all of our service men and women, past and present.  You Rock!!  The sacrifices you and your families have made to protect our freedom is beyond measure and will not be forgotten.  Thank you.

Growing up in New Hampshire, where the state motto is “Live Free or Die” we never missed a Memorial Day parade and they were always held on May 30th, regardless of what day of the week the holiday fell on.  Most businesses were closed that day, but if they weren’t they closed down during the parade, allowing employees to pour onto the sidewalks to show their respect.  The parade was followed by backyard cookouts, family gatherings, and a understanding that summer was almost upon us.

I decided that a Piña Colada would be a great way to welcome in summer.  I found a simple recipe in my Vitamix cookbook.

~ Piña Colada Recipe ~

4 1/2 ounces light rum
4 1/2 Tbl. cream of coconut
1/2 cup coconut milk
2 Tbl. shredded coconut
3/4 cup fresh pineapple
1 banana, optional
3 cups ice

Place all ingredients in the blender container and secure lid.  Start on lowest setting, then increase to Variable Speed 5 and blend for 45 seconds or until desired consistency is reached.  Enjoy!

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~ Rum Runner Cocktail ~

1 ounce Pineapple Juice
1 ounce Orange Juice
1 ounce Banana Liqueur
1 ounce Blackberry Liqueur
2 ounces Rum
splash Grenadine 

Fill tall glass with ice.
Layer in Blackberry Liqueur, Grenadine, Orange Juice, Pineapple Juice, Banana Liqueur, and Rum.  Swizzle.  Garnish with pineapple and lime.

I was looking for a cocktail to enjoy on New Year’s Eve.  I think the Rum Runner was the perfect choice.  Happy New Year from our family to yours.
May 2014 be bright and full of good cheer!!

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