This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #RumInTheSun #CollectiveBias The following content is intended for readers who are 21 or older.
We’re riding out into the dog days of summer. For me, that means enjoying days with my feet in the dirt, picking late summer berries (and staining ALL of my clothes in the process), and a late afternoon cocktail on the porch – made even better with the company of a close friend.
Rum is one of my favorite summer staples because of its versatility and the way it seems to always remind me of fun times spent in the sun–namely of time well-spent in the Caribbean. With Rum punch, Pain Killer, Rum & Cola (or with a twist – a Cuba Libre), Daiquiri, Mai Tais, Blue Hawaiis and – of course – Mojitos as the most popular drinks to choose from, you really can’t go wrong with a little #RumInTheSun. Bacardi’s Banana Rum is also the perfect sweet banana-rum flavor to fit into all of your summer cocktails (bananas foster cocktail, anyone?)
So today I teamed up with Bacardi (and my bac to share you with you my favorite late summer mojito – the blackberry champagne mojito – using their Bacardi Superior Rum.
Recipe: Blackberry Champagne Mojito
Ingredients:
- 1 cup Bacardi Superior Rum
- 2 cups brut or extra-brut Champagne or Sparkling Wine
- 1 cup blackberries (best if from your own bush!)
- 3 limes, cut into wedges
- 3/4 cup mint leaves
- 1/3 cup raw sugar or white sugar
- 1/3 cup water
- Crushed ice
Directions (or rather – here’s what I did):
So: I’ll be honest: I love drinking cocktails; I hate making cocktails. I also – until today – hated the idea of making simple syrup.
BUT TODAY – Today the simple syrup took me approximately 3 minutes to make and mixed into my drink like a dream (no weird sugar-crunching going on post-mixing, no mixing forever). So now, simple as that: I am a simple syrup believer.
I took the 1/3 c of white sugar and 1/3 c of water, threw them in a sauce pan, and turned it on to medium-low heat. I started texting a friend, and when I looked up, it was boiling. Okay, okay, turn the heat down a little to simmer. I stirred it while it was simmering until the sugar dissolved into the water, then promptly turned it off, poured the mixture into a glass measuring cup and stuck it in the fridge.
While that was cooling, I began to cut the limes into wedges, pick the mint leaves off into the measuring cup, and went out back to pick a few blackberries off the bush. I poured them into a big bowl with the freshly cooled simple syrup and got my muddling stick (or mortar?) ready to muddle.
I muddled for about 3-5 minutes, making sure to break down the berries fully and squish the mint leaves and lime rinds for flavor (from past experience, I can say that those lime rinds are of the utmost importance to the overall mojito flavor). All typical directions would instruct me to strain that mixture into my pitcher, but I believe that the mixture is best left un-strained.
After pouring into the pitcher, I added the cup of Bacardi Superior Rum and stirred.
If you have a fridge with a water/ice function on the door, use it. Fill your glass up with crushed ice, then pour it 3/4 full with the mixture. Pop open the champagne (holla~) and top up your glass. Stir the glass and ~violá~ you have your blackberry champagne mojito.
If you’d rather drink it with little less potency, fill the glass 1/2 way, go 1/4 glass more with the champagne, and top with soda water (or go 1/2 and 1/2 with the mojito mix and seltzer).
However you drink it: Garnish if you want to ‘gram it, or just drink it as is. Kick back, sip (slowly, it’s strong), enjoy with a friend.
Flavor Profile:
If you have experience drinking rum cocktails, this will come at no surprise, but the flavors that come through are tart from the champagne / blackberries / limes, slightly bubbly, a little bitter (mint, lime rind oil) and a little sweet.
Not too bitter, not too sweet – it’s the perfect drink for the best friend duo that can never agree between the two extremes.
I love Bacardi, because it is the quinessential rum. When you purchase a bottle of Bacardi Superior, you know that it will good for whatever you want to mix up; there’s really no limitations.
This summer, you can redeem an on-pack code placed on select Bacardi Superior bottles for $5 Live Nation Concert Cash®; 2 codes gets $15 Live Nation Concert Cash” (Must include: 21+. State exclusions apply. www.bacardisummermusic.com for details and restrictions).
Bacardi is also hosting a summer sweepstakes, where you can enter to win a Live Nation concert trip anywhere around the globe, plus different music-related prizes (like concert gift cards and concert passes). No purchase necessary and prizes are awarded every day, so if you have a second, go enter today!
Takeaways
So go! Kick back, try out this blackberry champagne mojito recipe and enjoy the late summer afternoon with friends. (It sounds nice, doesn’t it?)
What are you waiting for?
Finally, share your favorite Bacardi recipes below!
