Hi Eve … My family likes to drink cocktails. They do drink wine, and especially when I’m buying … LOL! At family gatherings there is usually an ample supply of margaritas, mojitos or sangria. Only my father and I drink martinis. Here’s how I make my mojitos:

6-12 fresh mint leaves (adjust to your taste)
1/2 lime cut into 4 wedges
sugar to taste … since you like flavored vodkas, you might use a mint flavored vodka instead of sugar. My sister likes Lavishmint.
crushed ice
carbonated water
2 ounces of vodka For cocktails I usually use a “soft” vodka. Nemiroff from Ukraine is a favorite.

I take a tall glass and place my mint leaves at the bottom. 2 lime wedges and crush with a muddler. Let the juices and oils flow naturally.
Next add sugar (to taste) and crush two more lime wedges
Fill your glass to the top with crushed ice
pour 2 ounces of vodka over ice
add carbonated water

*for me the key is using the best ingredients so I am even picky about the carbonated water.
My sister uses the same recipe for pitchers and she increases the amounts accordingly. She like to play bartender. We do not allow her to use flavored vodka. My father is the final judge, and the gods have pity on the Alonzo who screws up the booze … LOL!

GAUMARJOS!

By the way, I originally made this recipe for Larisa back in “05 on our first meeting. She coined it “Grisha’s Mojito.”

R. Gregory Alonzo is a sommelier, vodka connoisseur, and distributor of specialty wines and spirits. Educated in both the United States and Europe, he is fluent in seven languages. Greg’s passion is what he calls, “Tasting History.” For Greg, the discovery of  the ambrosial delights of kings, the Caesars, and tsars is his personal quest. To share these discoveries is his joy.

Gregory Alonzo
Excess within control
rgregoryalonzo@gmail.com