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Cocktail History
The Hugo Mojito is a modern cocktail that was created in 2023 by John Langner at Helix Wine, Craft Bar, & Café in Altoona, Wisconsin. The recipe cleverly takes the Hugo Spritz’s familiar ingredients, elderflower and Prosecco, and marries them to a Mojito. It then takes them a step further by adding house-made cucumber syrup for an extra bit of coolness and refreshment.
Cocktail Ingredients
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:
White Rum: This is a type of rum made with molasses or sugar cane juice and alcohol that is filtered and bottled right away without the aging process. We used BACARDÍ Superior White Rum because it has a soft and slightly sweet rum flavor. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Lyre’s Non-Alcoholic White Cane Spirit in place of the rum.
Elderflower Liqueur: This is a liqueur made with elderflowers, citrus, herbs, sugar, and alcohol. We used St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur because it’s high quality and has a fresh flavor. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Monin Premium Elderflower Syrup in place of the elderflower liqueur.
Cucumber Syrup: This is a sweetener made with cucumber juice and white sugar. We made ours at home using Alex’s sous vide recipe.
Lime Juice: This is the liquid juice of a lime. We used freshly squeezed lime juice.
Sparkling Wine: This is a carbonated wine made with white or red grapes. We used La Marca Prosecco because it has a crisp and refreshing taste with floral notes. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Gruvi Non-Alcoholic Prosecco in place of the sparkling wine.
Soda Water: This is a type of water that has been infused with carbon dioxide gas under pressure. We used Topo Chico Sparkling Mineral Water because it’s light, essentially flavorless, and refreshing.
Mint Leaves: This is an herb. We used Mojito mint leaves.
Mint Sprig: This is an herb. We used Mojito mint.
Bartending Tools
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following bar tools:
Jigger: This is used to measure and pour ingredients. We used the Japanese jigger from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.
Muddler: This is used to muddle ingredients. We used the HQY Stainless Steel Cocktail Muddler.
Boston Shaker: This is used to shake ingredients. We used the Boston shaker from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.
Hawthorne Strainer: This is used to strain out ice and solid ingredients after the cocktail is shaken. We used the A Bar Above Hawthorne Strainer.
Paring Knife: This is used to cut ingredients. We used the OXO Good Grips 3.5 Inch Paring Knife.
Juicer: This is used to juice citrus. We used the ALEEHAI Manual Fruit Juicer.
Tasting Notes
The Hugo Mojito has crisp aromas of mint and cucumber, starts with the cool taste of cucumber mingled with mint and rum, follows with floral notes and lime, and finishes with Prosecco’s bubbly dry wine zest accented by more cucumber.
Our Opinion of This Cocktail Recipe: If we had to pick the cocktail of Summer 2023, this would be it! We were already fans of the standard Mojito, but this version elevates its flavors to new heights while maintaining balance among all of its notes. If you’re a local, please go say hi to our friends at Helix and order a Hugo Mojito before it leaves their menu for the season.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Alex’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“This drink comes from Helix, one of our favorite local cocktail bars, and it was made by a good friend of ours who is the head bartender there. Inspired by the popular Hugo Spritz’s elderflower, John added a bit of that and cucumber to the Mojito for coolness, and the result was a total hit. Having gone to Helix and enjoyed this many times, I knew I needed it on my home bar menu, so I replicated the recipe as well as I could, and while nothing quite tops drinking it there, this is a pretty good replication.”—
Kendall’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐
“The Hugo Spritz has been all the rage this spring and summer from what I’ve seen online so it was very astute of Helix, one of our favorite local bars as Alex said, to create this blend of both that popular recipe and the beloved Mojito. Alex has had them several times while visiting the bar with friends and insisted that we recreate it for the blog so I could try one before the weather turned colder. My exact reaction upon first sip was to exclaim, ‘Motherf@!#%$, five stars.’ So yeah… I am definitely a convert. This is hands-down one of the tastiest riffs on a Mojito that I have ever tried thanks to the elderflower and cucumber, and I will definitely be adding this to my rotation.”
Recipe
This cocktail recipe was adapted from the summer 2023 menu at Helix Wine, Craft Bar, & Café. Note: John’s original recipe muddles and builds the drink in the glass with mint leaves, but we prefer our Mojitos shaken and fine-strained, so that’s why our recipe is slightly different.
Add mint leaves and cucumber syrup to a shaker.
Muddle gently and let sit for 2-3 minutes.
Add rum, elderflower liqueur, lime juice, and cubed ice to shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Double strain into a highball glass filled with fresh cracked ice.
Top with Prosecco and soda water.
Garnish with mint sprig.
Ingredients
Directions
Add mint leaves and cucumber syrup to a shaker.
Muddle gently and let sit for 2-3 minutes.
Add rum, elderflower liqueur, lime juice, and cubed ice to shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Double strain into a highball glass filled with fresh cracked ice.
Top with Prosecco and soda water.
Garnish with mint sprig.
Make It a Mocktail: Use Lyre’s Non-Alcoholic White Cane Spirit in place of the rum, Monin Premium Elderflower Syrup in place of the elderflower liqueur, and Gruvi Non-Alcoholic Prosecco in place of the sparkling wine to try a booze-free version of this drink.
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More Cucumber Cocktails
If you like this cucumber-flavored cocktail recipe, here are a few others we’ve tried that you may enjoy:
Deep Cleanse: A gin cocktail made with aloe vera juice, simple syrup, lime juice, and cucumber slices
Eastside: A gin cocktail made with lime juice, simple syrup, cucumber slices, mint leaves, and a mint sprig
Go-To: A gin cocktail made with lime juice, elderflower liqueur, ginger beer, mint leaves, cucumber wheels, and a mint sprig
Trellis Gin & Tonic: A gin cocktail made with cucumber and rose pink tonic water, lime juice, and a rolled cucumber ribbon
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