We combined two of our summer loves, watermelon and mojitos, to make these easy, thirst-quenching Watermelon Mojito cocktails. You only need 2 minutes and 6 ingredients, including light rum, juicy watermelon, tangy lime juice and fragrant mint leaves, to stir up a glass of pure refreshment!
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I’m not sure there is a more quintessential summer cocktail than a classic mojito. The combination of mint, sugar, lime juice, rum and club soda gets me every time.
So what do you get when you create a mash up of summer’s most refreshing fruit and summer’s most refreshing cocktail? A must-have Watermelon Mojito recipe that you’ll be sipping all season long.
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Why you'll love this recipe
➤ Quick & easy: It takes just minutes to make a glass of this bar-worthy Watermelon Mojito recipe. No mixology skills required!
➤ Easy to batch: Serving a crowd? Multiply the number of servings you need and make it in a large pitcher!
➤ A drink for everyone: This refreshing recipe can be either a cocktail or mocktail. Love rum? Add a little extra. Prefer a mocktail? Omit the rum, muddle a few extra watermelon cubes and top with plain or a flavored sparkling water or ginger ale.
Ingredients
These ingredients will probably look familiar. My version doesn't stray too far from a traditional mojito recipe except for the addition of ripe, juicy watermelon.
A few ingredient notes:
- White rum - Leave that bottled of spiced rum in the cabinet. A classic mojito recipe alway uses white rum.
- Fresh mint - You can’t have a mojito without one of it’s signature flavors, mint. Luckily, mint grows prolifically (or invasively, depending on how you see it), so plant it in its own pot if you can or it might take over other plants. Large, just-picked bundles are always available at the store or farmer’s market during summer, too.
- Lime juice - Only the fresh stuff will do here. The bottled stuff is convenient but it contains preservatives that impact flavor.
- Superfine sugar - You’ll find this in the baking aisle. It has a finer grain than regular sugar and is often used in cold drinks and some baking recipes because it dissolves more quickly.
- Fresh watermelon cubes - You'll want the juiciest, ripest melon for these drinks. Follow my tips below for how to pick a ripe watermelon.
- Club soda - Can you even call it a mojito without some fizzy goodness? Plain or flavored sparkling water will also work.
Instructions
My Watermelon Mojito recipe is a bit different from others because you muddle the the melon directly in the glass rather than puree the watermelon separately and add it to the cocktail. Less effort, less dishes but still the same great flavor. Win-Win!
Add the sugar and lime juice to a highball glass. Stir until dissolved.
Add the watermelon and mint leaves to the glass. Muddle gently.
Fill your glass with ice, pour in rum and top with club soda. Garnish with additional mint leaves and watermelon cubes. (The boozy watermelon cubes are my favorite part of this cocktail!!)
Recommended equipment
You don't absolutely need these items, but if you're a regular mojito drinker, they can elevate your mixology game quickly:
Collins glasses (also called highballs) are a must for mojitos. They usually average between 11-13 ounces, which is less than your average tall drinking glass. You can certainly use one of your favorite drinking glasses. Just know the glass may not be completely full because it has a larger capacity.
Muddler and Cocktail Spoon Set - I love this set because the muddler is extra long so it makes getting into those skinny collins glasses a bit easier. Also the stir spoon is great for pitchers and tall bar glasses alike!
Superfine sugar - If you want to make your own superfine sugar, simply take regular granulated sugar and give it a spin in the food processor. If you're short on time or energy, there are several brands that can be easily purchased either online or at the grocery store.
Expert tips for making the best watermelon mojitos
✔︎ Chill your ingredients thoroughly before making this drink. They won't dilute as quickly in the ice-filled glass if already chilled.
✔︎ Use a highball or collins glass for this drink and fill it completely with ice. If you try to cram all the ingredients into a lowball, you won't have the right ice to ingredient ratio and you'll end up with an unbalanced drink.
✔︎ Sugar substitutions: If you don’t have any superfine sugar on hand when the watermelon mojito craving hits, feel free to swap in a generous ½ ounce of simple syrup instead. Or if you only have regular sugar on hand, you can use that, too. Just make sure you dissolve it completely in the lime juice before adding the remaining ingredients. No one likes a slightly gritty mojito.
✔︎ Acid is a must in most cocktail recipes to keep the flavor balanced. In this drink, you definitely want to use freshly squeezed lime juice. The bottled stuff contains additives that alter the taste of the juice in order to give it more shelf life. I like to freeze fresh juices in ice cube trays and then pull out cubes when I need them.
✔︎ Muddle gently. We like to think that more is always better, but that’s not the case with muddling. The goal when muddling is to keep the mint leaves mostly intact. Shredding and smashing them into smaller pieces releases too much of their oils and gives you a bitter cocktail.
✔︎ No muddler? No problem! Use the end of a wooden spoon to muddle the melon and mint instead.
✔︎ Don't have club soda on hand? Use plain or flavored sparkling water instead. Ginger ale is a tasty twist to try, too!
✔︎ Make a mojito mocktail! Not a rum fan? You can still enjoy the refreshing flavors of this drink recipe. Simply omit the rum, toss in a bit more watermelon and top with club soda. You still get all the juicy, minty, melon flavors without any of the alcohol.
More mojito recipes
Love rum? Check out more delicious rum drinks in our archives!
Did you make this recipe? We'd love to hear your thoughts!
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Recipe
Watermelon Mojitos
Ingredients
- 2 ½ teaspoons superfine sugar
- 1 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
- 6 pieces of watermelon, divided, seeded and cut into 1 x 1" cubes, divided
- 10 mint leaves, divided
- 3 ounces white rum
- club soda or sparkling water
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Instructions
- Place sugar and lime juice in a collins/highball glass. Stir until sugar is dissolved.2 ½ teaspoons superfine sugar, 1 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
- Add 3 watermelon cubes and 5 mint leaves to the glass and muddle gently 3-4 times.6 pieces of watermelon, divided,, 10 mint leaves,
- Fill glass with ice, pour in rum and top with a generous splash of club soda. Gently stir. Garnish with remaining watermelon and mint leaves.3 ounces white rum, club soda or sparkling water
Notes
- Use chilled ingredients so your drink doesn't start to dilute immediately after making it.
- Freshly squeezed lime juice is important to the flavor of this drink since it has so few ingredients. Avoid the bottled stuff with flavor-altering preservatives.
- No superfine sugar? Swap in simple syrup or regular granulated sugar instead. If using granulated sugar, make sure to stir it until all the sugar is dissolved so your mojito isn't grainy.
- Muddle your drink gently so the mint doesn't become bitter from being overworked. Don't have a muddler? Use the end of a wooden spoon instead!
- Plain or flavored sparkling water works well in place of the club soda.
- Make it a mojito mocktail by omitting the rum, adding extra watermelon and using a flavored sparkling water or ginger ale.
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Nutrition
Nutrition info not guaranteed to be accurate.
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