mojitos by the pitcher

By pdav

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup loosely packed mint leaves
• 1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• 2/3 cups simple syrup
• 1 1/2 cups rum
• 3 cups club soda
• ice

Preparation

Step 1

Use a mortar and pestle to mash up or "muddle" the mint leaves. If you don't have a mortar and pestle, you can use the back of a spoon to mash up the mint leaves. The point is you want to release the flavors and oil in the leaves as much as possible.

Fill the bottom 1/4 to 1/3 of the pitcher with ice. Toss in the muddled mint leaves and remaining ingredients. Fill the remainder of the pitcher with ice. Stir well and serve on the rocks.