Mojito-mead recipes?

My wife is interested in making her first sparkling mead, and would like to craft something resembling a mojito, i.e. flavors of lime and mint, which actually sounds like it might taste quite good.

I was wondering if anyone has a recipe for something along these lines that they'd be willing to share.

If not, any experiences with using mint and/or lime as mead ingredients, as well as good choices for honey types and yeast would be appreciated.

MMMMM Mojito
I've got an idea!

Honey type is not going to be crucial....just a good clover will be fine.
use enough to crap out D-47 medium sweet....around 3# per gallon...if it's not finishing between 1.010 and 1.000 add honey till it does.
Nutrient + Energizer + Time.
Add about a good handful of mint leaves (Maybe 1/4 cup loose chopped?)....bruised!
Add zest and juice from 2 small limes.

Secondary on leaves and zest for about 3 weeks, then rack till clear and bottle.

That does sound pretty tasty. I might have to keep an eye on this thread.

I did a "cure-all" mead which had lime and yerba buena (spearemint) in it, but with a multitude of other "medicinal" things in it, namingly camomile and ginger. The honey I used was euclypus honey, at an SG of around 1.070. I made a strong tea with the camomile, ginger, yerba buena, then added key-lime and some key-lime zest. combine with water and honey then pitch like normal, I used Notty for this one, hoping it'd leave some residual sweetness. I bottled it a while ago, and it's carbing in the bottle currently. from the taste on hydro sample it was sweetish with a little tea-twang. I'm sure you're going for more of a minty thing, so grab a bunch more mint, use lime zest mostly (it'll lend more lime flavor than the juice), and grab some light honey, nothign too dark or strong, perhaps some citrus blossom. YMMV

Great information so far, thanks.

Can you elaborate on the D-47? I am not familiar with what that means.

EDIT: ah, I guess it's a yeast strain I wasn't familiar with. So you suggest basically overwhelming the yeast's alcohol tolerance to result in a semi-sweet finish? Would I still be able to bottle carbonate it this way?

D-47 = LALVIN ICV D-47 Côte de Rhône

When do you think would be best to add the lime in something like this? I almost wonder if it would be good to add it to taste at bottling. Kind of adjusting for acid with lime juice.

If you get a sweet or semi sweet finish, that means your yeasts have been overcome and can not ferment anything else. Therefore they would be unable to eat more sugars to carbonate. And if you used higher alcohol tolerating yeast for carbonating, it would also ferment the residual sugars that were present making it semi sweet in the first place.

Basically, only way to naturally bottle carb with a sweet finish, is to get the sweet finish through the use of non-fermentable sugars (Lactose, splenda)

careful about trying to overwhelm a yeast, the published stats arent concrete, I had a 1.157OG goto 1.004FG with 71B, definately more than 16%

I've been planning on making a mint mead. Add 2 cups of mint tea for flavor and tannins, and throw in mint leaves in secondary.

will_cbe said:

I've been planning on making a mint mead. Add 2 cups of mint tea for flavor and tannins, and throw in mint leaves in secondary.

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Be Very Very Careful about adding the Tea Tannins. They tend to become overbearing very quickly

I would cold brew any tea that you might use.

Your mead will have a green tinge to it if you add fresh mint, or even dried mint. In theory, you could circumvent this (if you wanted to) by adding mint extract, or pure mint oil; though I don't know how well the mint oil would mix into your mead. That's my 2 cents worth. Regards, GF.

gratus fermentatio said:

Your mead will have a green tinge to it if you add fresh mint, or even dried mint. In theory, you could circumvent this (if you wanted to) by adding mint extract, or pure mint oil; though I don't know how well the mint oil would mix into your mead. That's my 2 cents worth. Regards, GF.

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I'd avoid the mint oil....at all costs.

I'd almost add some food coloring to make it really green....Looks are as important as taste...and noting says Lime like Green!

1lb meade? how much mint? mmmmmmm i got some going now@ GIT R DUN!

Green doesn't bother me in the least.

I'd almost expect a mojito mead to be slightly green since a really good mojito has that hint of green to it. Also what kind of bottles do you think would be best for this? Im thinking clear snub beer bottles or clear fliptops.

I did a Mojito mead once. It was Lime, Vanilla, Mint. Turned out great.

I used Lime zest in the primary, Lime Juice in the secondary. Home Made Vanilla Extract and Home made Mint extract.

The Mint Extract (technically a tincher) was made by taking mint leaves, stuffing a jar with them, bruising them first, then filling up the rest of the jar (about 1/8th) with clear rum (it can be vodka too). Then let it be for 2 months.

I used 1/4 cup of the mint extract. Got a good flavor.

Matrix

We never did make this one.

Got the urge to experiment with this and make it a hydromel. I'm hoping for a light, carbonated, mojito flavored drink.

1 gallon batch

2 cups strong mint tea
1 lb clover honey
1 can limeaid frozen juice concentrate
1/4 cup light brown sugar. ( to give it a slight rum like taste, or at least i hope it does)
1 tsp Lemon Juice ( From those lemon shaped squeeze bottles)
1 tsp Lime Juice ( Same as above but Lime shaped )
5 drops green food coloring
Appropriate amounts of Yeast nutrient, Yeast energizer and Di ammonium Phosphate
Lalvin RC 212 Yeast.

OG was 1.062
I will back sweeten this with Malto-dextrin before i bottle.

Chris_The_Rogue said:

Got the urge to experiment with this and make it a hydromel. I'm hoping for a light, carbonated, mojito flavored drink.

1 gallon batch

2 cups strong mint tea
1 lb clover honey
1 can limeaid frozen juice concentrate
1/4 cup light brown sugar. ( to give it a slight rum like taste, or at least i hope it does)
1 tsp Lemon Juice ( From those lemon shaped squeeze bottles)
1 tsp Lime Juice ( Same as above but Lime shaped )
5 drops green food coloring
Appropriate amounts of Yeast nutrient, Yeast energizer and Di ammonium Phosphate
Lalvin RC 212 Yeast.

OG was 1.062
I will back sweeten this with Malto-dextrin before i bottle.

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let us know how it goes eh?:rockin:

bismarkarek said:

let us know how it goes eh?:rockin:

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It got infected and had to be dumped. Ill be trying it again in a week or two.