OK, so before you tell me I am perfectly aware that it is the middle of winter and not really mojito season. But sometimes a girl’s gotta live in denial. And then sometimes a girl’s got a friend to live in denial with, which makes it all the more fun.

My friend Stephanie and I had a fancy cocktail day last weekend, and we made these mojitos using agwa which is a tasty liqueur that I had never heard of before. Apparently you can’t get it in Canada which would help with my ignorance of it. Agwa is made with de-cocainized coca leaves and a mixture of several other herbal extracts. It’s green. It’s so green. It worked great in mojitos because of the colour. The flavour is also more subtle than tequila or rum and blended well with the mint. This would be a great cocktail to drink on St. Paddy’s Day or if you happened to be having cocktails with a woodland fairy. We used mint from my garden because it’s still alive!! That mint has been frosted and thawed a half dozen times and is still very perky looking. So scrappy…

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 oz. agwa
• 12 fresh mint leaves
• 1/2 lime, a slice reserved for garnish
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 6 oz. soda water

1. Lightly crush the mint leaves in the bottom of the glass to release the mint oils. Squeeze the juice from the half lime onto the leaves.
2. Add the agwa and sugar and stir.
3. Pour in the soda water and stir again.
4. Garnish with a slice of lime and a pretty mint leaf. Stephanie suggests garnishing with a light zest from the lime peel.