Grapefruit Mojito Recipe

Helllllllo from Portland! FINALLY!

Take it from me, it’s not wise to travel to 12 states in 16 days. I don’t go out of my way to suggest it, however, I’ll admit traveling to that extent may be exhausting but exhilarating nonetheless.

We arrived in Portland on March 28, 2015 around 4:30pm. Just in time to enjoy Portland food and seriously get our drink ON. When it comes to enjoying libations, neither Kieran or I fuck around…..we’re pro’s if you will…especially when we need to relieve pent up stress. With our boozey savviness comes preparedness…..we purchased rum and wine in Chicago to accompany us on our journey to Portland.

When we arrived at our temporary Airbnb residence, our first order of business was making sure Myron Fuzzypants was feed, watered, and comfortable. The second order of business was finding a pair of glasses, ice, and a double shot of rum.

Back in our Chicago days I was a huge fan of rum and diet cokes. I was oblivious to the harmful chemicals lurking in the diet cola drink. The moment I opened my eyes and stopped drinking diet cola drinks, I lost 20 pounds. Unfortunately, I missed the taste of cola. I decided drinking rum and water with a splash of regular coke was better than drinking diet. Of course, I was only fooling myself, drinking alcohol is bad enough without adding extra sugar or high fructose corn syrup to my diet. In 2015 my New Year’s Resolution was to quit drinking coke, pepsi, sprite, or any other soda with artificial ingredients.

Now, I haven’t been perfect, and have cheated 2-3 times, but overall quitting cola was easier than expected. But now comes the hard part….what in the world was I going to mix with rum? I enjoy the taste of beer, but it makes me tired….really tired. So I prefer vodka or rum…..and the occasional whiskey 😉

For awhile Kieran and I were drinking rum and Coconut La Croix water. Coconut La Croix is off the chain delicious, but our rum cocktails were so plain. I began getting into the habit of muddling mint in a glass and topping it off with Coconut or Lime La Croix. The mint elevated the taste for sure. When Kieran and I are home, drinking alone, I’ll often stick to rum, mint, and plain soda water, however, when we have friends over I want to fancy up our drink choices. We started to experiment mixing rum with Lime or Coconut La Croix and a splash of juice, or all natural juice spritzer so we could get some flavor but tone down the sugar intake.

Low and behold grapefruit turned out to be my favorite mixer with rum, mint, and club soda. The combination is refreshing with a hint of sophistication. The cocktail screams, “YEAH BABY!!!! SUMMER IS COMING BITCHES!! DRINK ME DOWN…..DRINK ME DOWN HARD!”

And drink down the tasty beverage I did, on March 28, 2015, upon our arrival to Portland after 4 long days of driving across the country.

Now, mint, grapefruit juice, and rum is tasty on it’s own, and I love it, but as a mojito it’s missing a touch of sweetness to balance out the tartness from the juice. Adding honey or simple syrup is the answer to alllllll of your grapefruit mojito problems.

I’ve seen grapefruit recipes that strain your own grapefruit and lime juice. Undoubtedly, real juice from grapefruit will taste phenomenal, but if you’re having a party it’s understandable you don’t want to be straining a bucketful of grapefruit all afternoon. I bought Ocean Spray’s 100% grapefruit juice from the store.

You can absolutely substitute honey for the simple syrup. If you’re having a party using simple syrup will be easier. I like to make my own simple syrup instead of getting store bought. That shit lasts forever in the fridge…you can seriously make the simple syrup a month ahead of time. However, if you choose honey, it will seize up if you pour directly into the glass with ice. You’ll want to zap the honey, with the lime, and sugar for a few seconds in your microwave. Once out of the microwave, stir the mixture together until the honey completely dissolves. After that, muddle the ingredients together, then add everything else.

So now I must go and start organizing our life in Portland. Registering our car at the DMV, getting new licenses, plates, the works. Oh yeah, Kieran and I are house hunting as well which means we’ll have to bounce around from Airbnb to Airbnb until we find our new home. OMG…I just reread that paragraph and felt my stress and blood pressure skyrocket. Excuse me will you……I need another drink.