I hope you had a great weekend. We had our daughter’s birthday party over the weekend (our little princess turned 4!) and it was pretty a chaotic weekend for us. Due to jet lag, my son still wakes up around 4 AM everyday and makes my day extra looooong. Therefore, needing some time to rest and write posts about my trip to Japan, my great blogger friend Laura from Family Spice came to rescue and blog-sit for me today.
I virtually met Laura sometime last year and we’ve been continuously discussing about how we can improve our blog. It’s been fun talking to her because she has a long blogging career and she’s very experienced. She’s knowledgeable and a little geeky “enjoying” coding and technical stuff. As we are both stay-at-home moms whose priority is our kids, we often struggle to find time for blogging (cooking + photo shooting + writing recipes/posts) between volunteering in school and driving the kids to extracurricular activities. She’s been really sweet and generous to support me and help my blog with all the technical knowledge, and I cannot thank her enough for her kindness.
On her blog Laura shares Persian recipes and a lot of family friendly recipes as she has 3 beautiful children to keep their tummy full and happy. You must check out these delicious Orange Barbecue Pulled-Pork Sandwiches and Persian Ice Cream with Saffron and Rosewater. Today she has a treat for grownups!
Now please welcome Laura with Sake Mojito!
Hi Everyone! I’m Laura and I’m the insomniac-stay-at-home mom over at Family Spice! I started my blog about 3 years ago as a way to document what I fed my family and to share recipes with family and friends. And of course, to keep my sanity while home with my babies! The only cooking class I’ve ever taken was 7th grade home-economics some years back where I was traumatized after chopping up about dozens of chickens for a school banquet! My passion is graphic design and I love to create new things, any new things from food to art to house projects for my husband. Lucky for me, he’s an engineer and loves to create, too, so we keep busy in San Diego with our three kids, The Professor (10), Middle-Child (8) & The Princess (6). I am half-breed Iranian married to a full-breed Iranian so I share Persian recipes as well as everything else I come up with in the kitchen. My favorite ingredient? Pomegranates!
I am truly honored that Nami asked me to guest post on her blog. I virtually met Nami through comments I left on her blog and comments she left on mine. A short thank-you email has blossomed into a pen-pal friendship, where we talk about our kids, our husbands, our blogs and how we try (unsuccessful at times) to balance it all! Nami has taught me so much about Japanese cooking, and how it goes beyond sushi and teriyaki sauce. I look forward to her posts & recipes, as I’m sure you do, every week!
But, with great honor comes great responsibility, or something like that! I wanted to share something really special here, something that could hold it’s own compared Nami’s beautiful photography and creations. The other night, the hubby and I were watching “Modern Marvels,” the hubby’s favorite show. They were talking about rice, everything you never knew about rice: how it’s grown, how it’s evolved and the 101+ apparent uses of rice that goes beyond food!
And of course, I learned everything sake. Sake is made from fermented rice. The brewing process is similar to beer more than wine, and it is a colorless beverage. Sake is not for the faint at heart, with an alcoholic content of about 15%-18%, compared to beer which is significantly less. I also learned that sake in Japanese refers to any alcoholic drink, but here in U.S. we like to simplify things!
Sake dates back centuries where the monks began brewing sake for religious ceremonies. And now, you can find hundreds of different varieties of sake, of different qualities and prices, from $6 and up to $400 a bottle, priced here in the U.S.
So with all of this talk of Sake, you’d think I’m an expert or drink a lot. Honestly, the first time I drank sake was with my husband at a sushi restaurant. I wanted to impress my then-boyfriend and smiled as I drank the warm liquid and let it burn down my throat. Mmmmm! No, not really. I am a light-weight when it comes to alcoholic drinks. I don’t do beer and don’t care for wine. Most of the time I prefer Margaritas, Mai Tai’s and the sort – girly drinks. All alcohol puts me to sleep, so I keep to my 1-drink limit. Yes, I’m a cheap date.
Which brings me to my next favorite drink and I’m proud to say, NOT a girly drink: The Sake Mojito!
You begin like you do with a regular mojito, crushing fresh mint leaves with chopped up lime and a bit of sugar. Mix in your sake. Do your dance while you shake and strain the liquid into your glass. Then top it with a splash of club soda and Salut!
This drink goes down like lemonade. The sugar and club soda helps the sake go down nice and smooth, which can be deceiving, so beware! It can go straight to your head pretty quickly!
And if you are making this for a party and don’t want to be crushing mint & lime all night, drink by drink, the hubby came up with a great solution. Put the sake and mint combo in the blender and pulse until coarsely chopped. Strain and pour into each glass, topping each with club soda.
So, raise your glass and cheers to you all!
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- 6 mint leaves (fresh)
- 1 tsp sugar
- ½ lime (cut into small pieces)
- 5 oz sake
- Ice
- 1 oz club soda
- 1 sprig mint
- In a cocktail shaker, crush 6 fresh mint leaves, 1 tsp. granulated sugar, and lime.
- Add and shake with 5 oz sake.
- Strain liquid into a glass filled with ice.
- Top with 1 oz club soda and 1 sprig of mint.
Serving Suggestions: If making for a crowd, add sake and ingredients from step 1 for quantity of drinks needed in a blender. Pulse until coarsely chopped and just combined. Strain liquid into glasses and top each with 1 oz of club soda & a sprig of mint.
Recipe by Family Spice. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you’d like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.
What an interesting fusion, Mexican and Japanese. I should try this one out, looks so good
Fantastic!! I love this, thank you for sharing!!!
Ciao
Alessandra
Great guest post. The combination of sake and mojito on a hot summery day sounds absolutely perfect!
Happy birthday to your princess – what a day 😀
And I’m glad you are able to get some R&R 🙂
Great guest post – this drink looks so refreshing!
Glad to have met you Laura and your awesome blog 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Happy Birthday to your little darling!
Such a beautiful mojito… Love the photos 🙂
Whoa! This kinda blows my mind – need to get this drink into some bars….
Wow that looks such a lovely drink, Laura. Great post, really lovely pic – just wanted to dive in. Good to meet you.
It looks really refreshing and gorgeous 🙂
Happy 4th to your lovely lil princess! And so glad to meet Laura and see her gorgeous photos!
I love this! Nami has been kind enough to answer my sake questions and this recipe is a good one for me to try. It’s a pleasure to meet you Laura. Also, hope the Princess had a beautiful day!
Happy Birthday to your little sweet daughter, ya, you need more rest, no hurry to post. This drink sound so refreshing and cool!
Hi, Laura. The drink looks gorgeous! As a Japanese cuisine fan and a frequent cocktail drinker, I’m sure I would love it. I haven’t got a clue about the Persian cuisine, so I’m hopping to your blog to learn more.
Nami, thank you for introducing Laura!
This is another great guest post! I haven’t had sake since I had a really bad experience drinking too much of it, but I need to give it another try with this mojito.
A Mojito made with Sake…!!! You can’t imagine how good it will be for me. As far as I know, the regular Mojito is made with rum, right? Ok, I have several problems when drinking rum, so I used to prepare Mojito with Vodka. Now I know I can make it with Sake too, that it cool…!!!
Thank you, everyone! Originally, the mojito (a Cuban drink) is made with white rum. There are variations out there with different herbs you can try (lavender, basil) and you can infuse it with other fruits (strawberries, cherries, blackberries). But this one, is like a smooth lemonade. VERY refreshing!
Looks so good and cool! Thank you for sharing.
I love lime anything and this looks like a winner in my book!! Mint and lime… even better!! 🙂 Great guest post!!
A gorgeous drink and presentation. Thank you Laura for sharing this recipe and welcome to the blog.
Nice to meet you Laura! Your photos look beautiful and drink, well I am not much of a drinker but it sure look gorgeous!
Nami thank you for sharing your guest with us today!
Happy Birthday for your daughter’s birthday Nami! I wish her all the happiness in the world!
What a nice idea the Sake Mojito Laura!
Hugs!
I love mojitos! I actually had a martini this weekend with sake in it so I am convinced that I would adore this drink. Lovely presentation!
Really enjoyed your post Laura! So glad to have “met” you through Nami, isn’t she the bomb?
I enjoyed a cocktail or 2 on Friday nights, and mojito is a favorite Summer drink of mine, thank you for sharing the recipe, and I am heading over to your blog now to look for more yummies!
Yum, this sounds great for warm summer days! Nice to meet you, Laura. I’ll have to check out your blog! 🙂
Great drink. I don’t drink much sake, although I do like it. But in a mojito? That’s new to me. Good recipe – thanks.
I’ve had a sake margarita but never a sake mojita. Looks perfect and quite addicting! I could easily put a few of these down on a hot summer’s night! 🙂
A delightful drink! So original and refreshing. I love sake.
Grear guest post.
Cheers,
Rosa
What a fabulous guest post from Laura and a beautiful, icy cold drink! Mojitos are my favorite cocktail this time of year and I would definitely love to try this variation on them. Thanks for sharing, Nami and Laura!
Oh my I love mojitos and sake in them? Keep pouring! Great guest post, Laura & thanks for sharing this, Nami! Cheers!
what a wonderful guest post! I love the mojito style sake drink
A glass of sake mojito sounds sounds so refreshing–something to look forward to with the summer months approaching.
Nami, welcome back again and Happy Birthday to your beautiful little one! 🙂
This is a kind of drink we all need sometime…LOL
Nice meeting you Laura!
Nami, take care my friend and once again A VerY happy Belated Bday to ur little princess…
Mojitos are one of our all time favourite summer cocktails. Sadly the weather here in Toronto has not cooperated predictably so we shall have to wait for such a refreshing and gorgeous summer drink. I shall bookmark to try it when it finally warms up. thanks
Eva http://kitcheninspirations.wordpress.com
Mojito is one of my favorite summer drinks but this sake mojito definitively tops many mojito drinks I’ve had. Since your recipe explains everything so clearly I’ll have to give it a try when it gets a lot hotter here NY. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Oh, yes please! This looks so light and refreshing. Gotta Pin it!
Aw, happy birthday to the little one, Nami!
And I’m intrigued by the idea of a sake mojito, Laura! I’m with you on the lightweight thing too.
Your pictures are stunning too, Laura!! I can’t say I know much about sake, but I love your little mojito twist. The most interesting thing I’ve had relating to sake is just iced coffee served in a sake bottle. 🙂
Happy birthday to your little 4-year-old princess, Nami!
Yes pls, I love sake.
I’m glad your back, Nami. We’ve been here for almost a year and my kids still don’t seem to be over the jet let! I also didn’t know that you had a four year old. My daughter turns 4 in a few weeks :). Great guest post! I would have never thought of a sake mojito, but it sounds perfect for summertime! Great photos too!
Nice to meet you Laura 🙂 I tried Sake when I had visited Japan but after that I never really tried it. I would love to give this a try 🙂 And Mojito is my fav anyway.
Mojitos are my go-to drinks and i love the addition of sake to this one! What a cool fusion
Such a gorgeous drink!!! Mojitos are so refreshing…and I can’t wait till the weather warms up again, so I can sip one of these beauties on the patio. Great guest post, Laura! Nami, hope your household readjusts to CA time soon 🙂
Delicious mojito! My sister’s favorite.
Happy Birthday to your daughter! That cocktail looks delicious and perfect for our hot AZ summers.
Laura its nice to meet u! Sake mojito? I realy have to get some good sake one of these days….
What an awesome drink! So refreshing!
It’s very nice to meet Laura.
At the moment, sadly, it’s pretty chilly here in London and honestly this temperature makes me drink just hot tea and herbal infusions. But I love mojito and now I’m even more curious about sake mojito! I’ll save this refreshing recipe for the summer (fingers crossed! 🙂
That looks so delicious and refreshing–thanks for the guest post! Hope your daughter had a wonderful birthday, Nami.
I’m not a huge drink person of course, but that doesn’t mean I can’t make these for girls night. They will absolutely love this
Dear Laura,
Now I never thought of using sake to make a refreshing drink like this, especially in summer.
Nami, I am so looking forward to your blogposts from Japan. It is one country that I would love to visit one day because it is so rich in culture and history.
Laura, this looks so refreshing and lovely. Can’t wait to try it!
4am starts are just so wicked! Yes, it really does make it an extra long day. I hope that stops soon. Your life sounds a lot like mine where you do your best to fit in the blogging around doing all the things you have to do as a mum of many. Fortunately my older two are at that stage where there’s some independence there but then I still have the seven-year old and there’s swimming lessons and rugby training and maths tuition and acting lessons and all the things that are great for them but take up a lot of our time. I think you’re doing amazingly well Nami xx
Nami this is a delicious Mojito!
What a refreshing cocktail! You can see how delicious it is from the photos and I’d like to reach in and take a glass 🙂
Happy Birthday to your little princess! Lovely drink.
I’ll take two please! I, on the other hand, am not a cheap date 😉 Gorgeous cocktail and photos, Laura. Happy Birthday to your little princess, Nami – she is so cute in her tutu!
I cannot wait to be sipping on one of these once the weather finally hits that “outside drinking is a must” stage!
Happy birthday to your little princess! When she’s a bit older, she’ll be able to enjoy this mojito too! I wouldn’t mind a glass of it myself right now! Looks sensational!
Wow, I love this mojito sake style 🙂
Oh this mojito looks good, and so refreshing I would love to surprise my husband tonight with one of these!
Sake – Mojito wow sounds perfect for the summer…..a thirst quencher:)
This is the first time I’ve seen sake being used in a mojito. I think it’s a good idea and this is definitely a-must-try. Nice meeting you Laura and thank you for this stylish drink. Thank you, Nami for introducing Laura to us.
~ ray ~
I love mojito, and yet have to try to make with sake…looks great and so good 🙂
Nice meeting you Laura!
Wow, I’ve never heard of using sake for a mojito, but I’ll have to try that because I love traditional mojitos. Nami, thanks so much for sharing Family Spice with us and I’m off to check out Laura’s blog…
Mm, I don’t drink a lot, but a good mojito is one of those things I can really enjoy a lot! I love this new twist using sake – looks so refreshing!
I get weak in the knees for mojitos. I can sip those lazily for hours on end. Ooh, should I admit that? 😉
Fantastic idea! We just made mojitos using lemongrass. Always love that refreshing drinks, especially on the forever balmy days in Malaysia. The use of sake is ingenious. Gotta grab a bottle of sake from our Japanese grocer o try it out.
I’ve never met a sake cocktail I didn’t love! SUCH a great idea to make a mojito!!!
Your pictures are absolutely amazing… and I love pomegranates!!!
I hope she had a great birthday! by the way I always make virgin mojitos at home, they are extremely refreshing and delicious but I enjoy your recipe so I might as well give it a try
Sake mojito is indeed very interesting and with so much heat here it sure is a perfect thirst quencher. Lovely guest post 🙂
I just love how the world of food blogging can bring people together and create friendships! I’ll drink to that, with a glass of that awesome mojito – very clever!
It’s my frist time here, Nami. What a lovely blog! In Brazil, we have a very similar drink to it: Sake with Caipirinha. Thanks for sharing. Cheers!
Hello nice to meet you Laura 🙂 And Welcome Back Nami again ~ bet you’re glad to be home hehe!
Oooo great recipe ~ I’ve never thought of a sake mojito hehe
Mojitos are such a refreshing drink during the summertime. I have some Sake that I purchased awhile back for another recipe and I wasn’t sure what to do with the rest. You’re right, it can go to your head pretty quick. Happy Belated Birthday to your little princess. I’m looking forward to trying this drink combination.
What a great idea. I have a sister-in-law who loves sake.
Mmmm what a wonderful idea for a cocktail!
Hi Laura, what a delightful and refreshing drink…lovely!
OMG, I spotted this on my google reader and had to jump over, amazing!! what a great infusion,
Mojito is my favorite cocktail. Very cool idea to make it with sake! 😀
Very interesting twist on the mojito.
I’m a purist when it comes to Mojitos since I’m Cuban and have always had them that way,but this sounds really intriguing! Nice looking cocktail. 🙂
This sounds wonderfully refreshing!
Thank you Donna! These pictures from FamilySpice.com were absolutely beautiful. It’s not easy to take drink pictures and she nailed it. 🙂
Can I use simple soda drink like sprite?
Sure! Adjust the sugar amount since sprite is already too sweet. 🙂
maiyrahskitchen.blogspot.com this is my blog if I use your recipe can I mention u I love japan N japanese food I learn cooking by my own through different blogs and ur blog is top in my search
Hi maiyrahskitchen! I just saw some of your blog posts and you took my content and recipes from my blog. My content is copyrighted and not sure if you are aware of this, but it’s consider infringement. I’ll email you about this…