Zombie Mint Mojitos!

The mojito is one of my favorite summer drinks. Mojitos originate in Cuba and are said to have been the favorite drink of famed author Ernest Hemmingway. We happen to have mint growing in our garden, or rather, taking over our garden. Mint sends out creepers and creates new plants with the same root system, so it tends to spread out everywhere. A while back we decided to get rid of it. We dug it up and literally chopped up the roots and pulled them out of the dirt, leaving only miniscule, mutilated root fragments, and it still came back from the dead. Thus the name, "Zombie Mint Mojitos". I love the combination of fresh limes and fresh mint muddled together, soaked in simple syrup and drenched in rum. ¡Delicioso! I spent much of my college years bartending so I am familiar with the recipes but if you're not here's the one I used, I used simple syrup instead of straight sugar. Simple syrup is two parts sugar to one part hot water, mixed until the sugar dissolves. There are a lot of fun variations on the mojito, some people like to use dark rum or flavored rum, but I like the classic version. Enjoy!

Ingredients
Ice
6 ounces light rum
12 mint sprigs, or spearmint, 8 roughly broken apart
6 tablespoons fresh lime juice
4 tablespoons sugar
Club soda
4 slices lime

Directions
Place ice in beverage shaker then add in the rum, 8 broken up mint sprigs, lime juice and sugar. Shake well and serve over ice in a high ball glass. Top off each glass with a splash of club soda.

Garnish each with a slice of lime and a sprig of mint.