Ahhhh, Christmas in Miami. Twinkling lights wrapped around palm trees swaying in the balmy tropical air, light-up flamingos glowing from your neighbor’s lawn, and “snow” trucked in for kids who’ve never needed a winter coat. Christmas in Miami just hits different. And with our famously multicultural influences, there’s never any shortage of delicious sips and nibbles to indulge in. Speaking of indulgence…this is the time of year when an adult beverage seems to magically appear in our hands more often than not, because nothing brings out the cocktail shaker quite like a house full of family… I adore the classic mojitos my hometown is known for, but I wanted something that kept the festive vibes without the next-morning regret. Enter my Sake Mojito—bright, fun, and surprisingly gentle, even when the holiday chaos isn’t.
Sake is famously clean-tasting and tends to deliver fewer hangovers than the usual holiday suspects, which means you can sip, mingle, dodge intrusive family questions, and still wake up ready to do it all again tomorrow. Whatever you’re celebrating this season these sake mojitos will be a hit, so let’s get into it.
Traditional mojitos start by muddling the mint at the bottom of the glass to release its sweet, fragrant oils. But for this Sake Mojito, I actually prefer blending the mint right into the base. Since sake isn’t as naturally sweet as rum, blending helps pull out more of that bright mint flavor so the drink still tastes vibrant and balanced. It also gives the cocktail that gorgeous, fresh kick our holiday drink deserves. I put everything in a cocktail shaker and my immersion blender, but you could also toss in a standard blender and pulse.
Add mint leaves to cocktail shaker:
Cut the lime into 8 wedges, and add 6 of them to the shaker (you’ll use the other 2 to garnish your mojitos):
Add the sugar:
Measure the sake and put into the shaker:
If using an immersion blender, blend for 10 seconds:
Add ice cubes to to serving glasses:
Strain the sake mojito over the ice, little bits of mint will be wonderful, just keep out big chunks of lime:
Now top your sake mojitos with sprite. Sprite gives them delightful effervescence and more citrusy goodness:
Grab those 2 lime wedges you saved and squeeze one into each drink:
Garnish these beauties with some fresh mint leaves and they are ready to enjoy:
My sake mojitos are the perfect way to spread a little cheer this holiday season, without massive regret in the morning. Perhaps served with my Matcha Chocolate Cashews or some Roasted Chestnuts. Can’t wait to hear what you think about them, and see your festive mojitos, tag me @funkyasiankitchen.
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Sake Mojito
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: serves 2
- Category: drinks
Ingredients
- 4 sprig mint leaves
- 1 lime (cut into 8 small wedges)
- 10 oz sake
- 3 Tablespoons sugar
- ice cubes
- 1 can of sprite or other lemon/lime soda
Instructions
Blend the drink Add half the mint, 6 lime wedges (saving 2 wedges for garnish), sugar, and sake into a cocktail shaker or tall cup. Use an immersion blender and blend for 10 seconds. You can also use a standard blender and pulse 5-6 times.
Pour the sake base into 2 cocktail glasses filled with ice. As you are pouring, push back on the limes, but it’s fine to let small bits of mint leaves pour into the drink. Top with sprite, and garnish with a sprig of mint and a wedge of lime.
Serve Sake Mojito immediately.
Notes
*To make batches for a group, you can make the base ahead of time. Add the limes, mint, and sake to a blender (I would triple the recipe until you make the amount you need) and pulse several times until the limes and mint are coarsely chopped. Strain the liquid into a pitcher and chill until ready to serve. Then pour the drinks over a glass of ice and top with some sprite and garnish with mint sprigs and lime wedges.
*Sake is strongly flavored and muddling the mint and limes is not enough to extract flavor for the drink. Even with the sprite, I found the drink not sweet enough for my taste. Of course you can adjust the sweetness to your own liking by increasing or decreasing the amount of sugar listed.
Keywords: mojito, asian mojito, sake, sake mojito, asian cocktails,
