- “Ya got yer fresh lime, cut it in half and squeeze it into the glass.” (Author’s note: Room temperature limes produce the most juice. And rolllllll the puppy first, then cut. Who knew?)
- “Pull off six to ten leaves of mint and a sprig or two—don’t skimp. S’important.”
- “Throw in a dash of sugar and MUDDLE that sucker.” (Author’s note: Muddling the mixture in the bottom of the glass consists of taking a big, pestle-like thing and smooshing it all down so the flavors blend. But not so it’s pulverized—you don’t want a big wad of mint stuck in your teeth do you?)
- “Fill the glass with a ton of ice, add 1 to 1-3/4 ounces of GOOD white rum, Bacardi is pretty standard, and top it off with ginger ale.”
- Whoa. Hang on a minute—ginger ale??? “Yeah, everyone loves it. Hey man, try it. A Ginger Press is half ginger ale, half seltzer.” Apparently this makes it DIET, which is fabulous!
- “Garnish it with sprig of mint and wedge of lime. This is KEY as you have to able to smell the mint and lime while tasting. Arriba!!!”
Then Eric had to sign off and flip his chicken—but not before conveying this dewy-eyed sentiment, which brought a tear to mine. “And by the way, if you publish this, and anyone actually comes in and asks for a Mojito, I will kill you.” I asked him, why the homicidal tendencies? He replied, “Because it takes, like, five minutes to make each one! I better get a killer tip. No, no I’m joking around. It is worth it; they are so good. Later!” Click.
Hmmm. I’m sure he was kidding about murdering his own sister. Nonetheless, this Mother’s Day brunch is the one for ditching that tired old Mimosa sawhorse and babaloo-ing up to the table with a Mambo Mama Mojito! In the words of my own Midwestern Mambo Mama, “Honey, can you pass me that TV tray?”
