When I was a little girl, I used to love to mix up “potions” – usually the remnants of nearly empty shampoo and lotion bottles, mixed with a few squirts of hand soap and perhaps some bubble bath. I’d put my potion in a bottle and mix it up, and then attempt to sell it to my Mom, her friends, whoever was around. Yep, I was the little entrepreneur.

Well, Mom should have known back then that her little potion-mixer (apothecary, perhaps?) would be a bartender one day. During my brief career as a mixologist, my absolute favorite drinks to make were the ones that had many ingredients: Bloody Marys, Long Island Ice Teas, etc. Even better than that? A drink that requires a muddler. I love to muddle. What can I say? Dirty martinis, mint juleps, mojitos . . . Muddling just plain rocks.

So here is a great muddled-up cocktail to refresh you on a hot summer afternoon: My Mint Mojitos. See if you can muddle your way through this one! (I couldn’t resist . . .)

My Mint Mojitos

The leaves from one good sprig of mint (8-10 large leaves)
1 tablespoon sugar
Ice
2-3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 shot (1 oz.) of light rum
about 1/3 cup of club soda
1 sprig of mint for garnish

Prepare your serving glass with ice, and set aside.

In a shaker (or a glass, if you don’t have a shaker), place the mint leaves and the sugar. Using a muddler (or any blunt-ended kitchen tool), mash up the mint leaves into the sugar until they release their oils and become very fragrant.

Next, add some ice, the lime juice, and the rum. Shake (if you’re using a shaker) or stir (if you’re using a glass). Pour the mixture over the ice in your prepared serving glass, straining the leaves out if desired. (Personally, I don’t desire.) Top with club soda and garnish with a mint sprig. Enjoy!

Celebrate Derby Day (or any day!) with this refreshing, traditional cocktail. If you can’t be at Churchill Downs today, then at least this cocktail will make you feel like you are. Be sure to make it with true bourbon, which is only produced in Kentucky. I have recommended two great choices below. Enjoy!

Mint Juleps

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
about 10-15 fresh mint sprigs
Crushed ice
Bourbon (recommended: Makers Mark or Woodford Reserve)

In a small sauce pan, boil together water and sugar for 2-3 minutes to make a “simple syrup.” Pour into a container and add the mint leaves from 10 of your mint sprigs. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Then use a strainer or a slotted spoon to fish your used mint leaves out of the mint syrup.

To make a mint julep, put your crushed iced in a small glass. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of the mint syrup and then pour 2 ounces of bourbon over the top. Stir gently, and garnish with your extra mint leaves. Serve immediately.

You can store your mint syrup in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 months. One recipe yeilds about 20ish mint juleps.

What is better on a warm spring afternoon than a chilly, fizzy margarita???

In the interest of full disclosure, I feel a need to confess, dear readers, that in one of my former lives, I was a bar-tender at a resort in rural Montana. All I can say is that a girl learns how to make a good margarita out there!

Caution: this is not a drink for the faint of heart – these margaritas will ROCK you if you’re not careful – but they sure go down easy!

Fizzy Margaritas

1 fresh lime, cut into wedges
Margarita salt or kosher salt
Ice cubes
1 16-ounce bottle of Mexican beer, recommended: Corona
1 12-ounce can frozen lime-aid concentrate
12 fluid ounces of water
12 fluid ounces of tequila
1/4 cup orange liqueur (triple sec, cointreau, or grand marnier)
1/4 cup orange juice

Take one of the lime wedges, cut a slit in it with a sharp knife, and use the slit to rub lime juice around the rims of 4 glasses. Dip the rims of the glasses into the margarita or kosher salt to coat. Fill the glasses with ice cubes.

Place more ice cubes in a large pitcher. Pour the beer, lime-aid, water, and tequila into the pitcher. Tip: you can use the empty lime-aid can to measure the water and the tequila. Then add the orange liqueur and the orange juice. Mix well with a long spoon, and pour into the prepared glasses. Garnish with the remaining lime wedges. Enjoy!!!