Basil-mint mojitos for a crowd

Well, technically these are for a small crowd, but you can easily make a double batch.

It drives me a little crazy that when I search for drink recipes they are almost always for a single serving. I get it, I do. I'm sure lots of people classily mix themselves a single fancy drink each evening. It's just that I rarely make cocktails unless they're for a party, in which case I have no intention of mixing them individually.

We heard a brief blip about basil-mint mojitos on Good Food a couple weekends ago and our garden happens to be producing both and we were going to a party. Serendipity. I found several recipes online (all for single servings), started scaling up and adjusting the proportions and we ended up with something pretty amazing. It's a little more herbaceous than the standard mint-only mojito and I added more rum and took the sugar down several notches. You can adjust for your own taste, of course, but I think this is a good start.

{basil-mint mojitos}

Basil-mint mojitos (makes just under 7 cups, serves 8 tipsily)

about 3 cups basil + mint, loosely packed
1/2 cup superfine sugar (or regular, but superfine dissolves well)
3.5 cups light rum
2 cups fresh lime juice
sparkling water (about 1 cup, possibly a bit more)

Muddle* sugar and herbs with a small amount of rum.
Add remaining rum and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to several hours.
Strain the herbs out, stir in the lime juice.
Add sparkling water to taste and serve over ice.

We've made them twice already and I've severely depleted our basil. I think that means I didn't plant enough.

{muddling}

* Muddling is just crushing the herbs to release the flavor. I have a really ugly muddler that I got free with a handle of rum years ago and it works perfectly fine. If you don't have one, I'd try using a wooden spoon instead (and then maybe go buy yourself a muddler). The point is to crush, rather than cut.