How To Make A Marijuana-Infused Mojito

Summer may be over, but it’s never too late for a mojito! And if you’re going to have a mojito, why not infuse it with cannabis?

The mojito is one of the most famous highball drinks, and it comes from Cuba. No one quite knows its origin story, but there are a few competing theories. One traces its origins back to Sir Francis Drake; as his colonial ship sailed towards Havana, his men got sick with scurvy and dysentery. Hearing tales that the locals knew how to cure such ailments, he sent his men ashore, and they came back with ingredients for the mojito (which really was a cure, as it contains lime, which is rich in vitamin C).

Others believe the drink came from African slaves who worked in the sugar cane fields of Cuba. They drank guarapo, sugar cane juice often found in mojitos.

The drink was a favorite of author Ernest Hemingway, who helped popularise it. Today, the mojito is the most popular cocktail in England and France. And who knows? Maybe the new and improved mojito—containing weed—will become the most popular cocktail worldwide!

INGREDIENTS

• Cannabis (0.2 oz of sativa work well)
• Bottle of rum
• ½ lime, cut into slices
• ½ cup crushed ice
• Carbonated water
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• Fresh mint sprigs

MEANS

Pantyhose (to be cut up)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Start by decarboxylating your weed. This is necessary because raw weed doesn’t contain THC and CBD, but THCA and CBDA, compounds that contain an extra carboxyl group and are thus acidic and less bioavailable. Grind your weed as though you were going to roll it into a joint, then place it on a sheet tray and bake at 110–116°C for an hour.
2. Infuse your rum with cannabis. To do this, cut off the foot of the pantyhose, place the decarboxylated weed inside, and tie it shut. Place this packet in your bottle of rum. Store the rum for at least 24 hours, and up to 7 days—the longer you store it, the more potent the infusion will be.
3. Once the rum is ready, it’s time to make mojitos! Place the sugar, mint, and lime in a highball glass, and pound them. That is, take a muddler, or some other flat-bottomed, preferably wooden tool, and gently press and twist until the ingredients begin to release liquid.
4. Add crushed ice.
5. Add a shot of weed-infused rum.
6. Fill the glass to the brim with carbonated water. Optionally, garnish with another mint sprig.

There you have it! A recipe for a delicious, weed-infused mojito. The perfect drink to bring a moment of summer back into your fall. Or perhaps, to follow in Hemingway's steps by writing the next classic novel.