Watermelon Mojito Frozen Daiquiris

The following article was written by Keegan Baur.

Mojitos: You either love 'em or hate 'em. Now that I've retired from bartending—when I spent my summers frantically wielding a well-worn muddler on glass after terrible glass of lime-soaked mint leaves—I am happy to declare that, once again, I'm a strong supporter of this refreshing and exotic beverage. If you're looking for the perfect icy cocktail to bring you relief from the summer heat, then watermelon mojito frozen daiquiris are a luscious solution.

Last week, I told everyone that I was excited about trying the popsicle version of this recipe. Unfortunately, the alcohol never seemed to freeze solidly in the molds so I tried using a blender, which worked to my advantage! In my opinion, these daiquiris are superior to the popsicle version. This recipe gets the Vegan Keegan stamp of approval, 100 percent.

Watermelon Mojito Frozen Daiquiris
8 oz. watermelon juice from 2 1/2 cups chopped watermelon
2 oz. fresh lime juice
1 oz. mint syrup (recipe below)
8 oz. light rum
14 oz. club soda

Place chopped watermelon in a food processor or blender and process until juiced and slightly pulpy.
Add lime juice, mint syrup, rum, and club soda and continue processing until well mixed.
Fill two ice cube trays with the mixture and freeze overnight.
The next day, spoon the frozen mojito cubes into the blender or food processor and process until smooth. (If you use a standard blender, you'll have to stop and stir the contents a few times.)
Pour into glasses and serve.

Makes approximately two 12-oz. daiquiris

Mint Syrup
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup mint leaves, loosely packed

Place the water and sugar in a pot. Heat until the sugar dissolves.
Cool mixture to room temperature. Then place the mint leaves in the mixture and muddle.
Steep mint leaves for 20 minutes.
Strain and discard leaves.

You will have more syrup than needed for this recipe. Save the extra syrup for use in other cocktails.