Cranberry Candy Cane Mojitos
Christmas is over but there's one last hurrah before we begin,once again in the New Year. This year's Christmas celebrations left us with an excess of canes, candy canes; the red and white stripes, the minty and sugary confections that scream holidays.
What better way to end the holiday season than raising canes?
and
What prettier way to do that than in a bright red mojito with some beautiful minty green leaves floating throughout.
First, let's take a quick look at the phrase "Raising Cain"
Back in the fourteenth century, the term raise meant to invoke or summon a spirit.
Eventually the phrase "Raising Hell" came around a few hundred years later, meaning to cause a disturbance.
(It must have been quite the disturbance, to name it after the actual opening the gates of hell.)
So, for those who wanted to conjure the same type of phrase but not quite to the degree as the entire netherworld arising, they began to say "Raising Cain". (Cain was Abel's older brother in the Adam and Eve story and killed Abel in a fit of jealousy. He was a marked man, there after.) In the phrase, raising Cain, it's a symbol of humanity's sinful side.
There were also a few less successful "Raising" phrases that didn't quite make it into our century.
"Raising Ned" , Ned being an old folk name for the devil.
"To raise Hob," a name for a demon dwelling in Hell.
It's true, they just don't have the same ring.
For those of you who plan on having fun and maybe having a drink or two this New Year's Eve but leaving Hell right where it is along with all of it's inhabitants, there's a different Cane we can raise and different spirits we can use.
The Cane: Candy
The Spirits: Rum
(It makes for a much more enjoyable evening. Just don't raise too many of them!)
The Cranberry Cane Mojito
Fresh Mint
1 tsp Pure Cane Sugar
1 Fresh Lime Wedge
(about 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice)
2 oz Light Rum
4 oz Cranberry Juice
4 oz Soda Water
(I used a lime infused sparkling spring water made by R.W. Knudson)
Place mint leaves and sugar in the bottom of your glass.
If your candy cane is thick and blunt, use it to muddle the mint with the sugar.
If your candy cane is thin, use your muddler and save the candy cane for garnish.
If you don't have a muddler, use a wooden spoon but the results may not be as good as with a muddler.
Add lime juice.
Add rum.
Add cranberry juice.
Top with soda or lime infused sparkling water.
Mix well using your candy cane.
and have fun Raising Cane...Candy Cane!
(The candy canes slowly dissolve into the drink, adding another minty sugary element.)
You know, this raising cane business really opens the door to quite a few other mojito possibilities.
Those candy sticks are available in more flavors than just peppermint. Imagine a minty orange mojito with a candy stick of bright citrusy orange...or green apple...or minty lemon lime...
Looks like this might be just the beginning of raising cane in mojitos, my friends!
Cheers to the New Year!!!
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