Festive Cocktail-tastic
Cranberry Mojito is pretty damned Christmassy (even though cranberries don’t grow in the UK and it is a really recently thing that cranberries are eaten here… same as oranges maybe). It is probably the jewel-red colour of cranberries and their juice that makes them popular for festive occasions. Personally, I like the tartness of cranberries (and really dislike artificial sweeteners in cranberry drinks). You do need a little sugar with cranberries otherwise they would be very bitter. However, I do prefer mixers that are not overly sweetened and definitely no artificial sweeteners.
If you are serving Cranberry Mojito and other cocktails you may like to have some snacks or canapes to ‘line your stomach’. I can heartily recommend mini Gluten Free, Vegan Quiche and Potato and Butternut Squash Rosti as great canapes to serve. Or how about Gluten Free Vegan Rosemary and Sea Salt Crackers with Black Olive Tapenade and Houmous – Garlic Free? Or if you want something sweet I LOVE Mini Christmas Mince Pies. Delicious!
Allergy Information – Cranberry Mojito
Cranberry Mojito is gluten-free and vegan as well as… celery free, coconut free, garlic free, lupin free, mustard free, nightshade free, onion free, peanut free, sesame free, soya free, tree nut free.
Top Tips – Cranberry Mojito
Most spirits are vegan (but not all) and many are gluten-free. I always check to see what the base of spirits is – e.g. many vodkas are made from grain which I avoid, even if technically they are gluten free. Rum is usually made from sugar cane and its byproducts (e.g. molasses). However I have heard that rum can be made from honey (but I have never seen this in shops). Most supermarkets and retailers allow you to filter searches for gluten-free and vegan so it should be easy to work out which rums are suitable.
Choose a white rum rather than a dark rum (which would make a strange coloured drink!).
Cranberry sauce works great in this Cranberry Mojito (home-made or shop bought). It has a concentrated flavour, is not overly sweet and (make sure if you are using shop bought) it doesn’t contain any artificial sweeteners. The perfect base (if a tiny bit unusual) for a cocktail!
If you want to make more than one at a time multiply up the ingredients and make step one in a jug, top up each glass from the jug, add ice, cranberries, soda water and top with mint and lime!
Recipe – Cranberry Mojito
Difficulty easy
Serves one cocktail (double up to make two)
Preparation time 5 minutes
Cooking time 0 minutes
Ingredients – Cranberry Mojito
1 tablespoon cranberry sauce, sieved
30 millilitres white rum
Juice of half a lime plus half a lime, sliced
Handful fresh mint leaves, plus extra to garnish
Crushed ice
1 tablespoon fresh or frozen cranberries
Soda water (to top up the cocktail)
Method – Cranberry Mojito
1. Put the sieved cranberry sauce, rum, juice of half the lime and mint leaves into a cocktail glass of your choice. Stir well
2. Fill the glass with crushed ice and add the cranberries
3. Top up with soda water and garnish with fresh mint leaves and slices of the remaining half of lime.
