Oh, Mojitos!

You can walk into almost any bar in this town and get a mojito. The Cuban mint julep -- made with mint leaves muddled with lime juice and sugar, shaken with light rum, and topped off with club soda -- was Colin Farrell’s drink of choice in this summer’s big-screen disappointment, Miami Vice. (Bacardi even claimed it was the “official drink of Miami Vice” on area billboards; we guess that means a White Russian was the “official drink” of The Big Lebowski.) So when we stepped up to the bar at Berries in the Grove and asked for its signature libation, we were less than enthusiastic to hear Norman the bartender say mojito. “It’s really good,” he promised. “We’ve won awards,” he claimed without going into details. The secret is making it with Ron Zacapa Centenario rum instead of the usual watered-down light rums. The 23-year-old, award-winning Guatemalan rum gives Berries’ mojitos a golden hue and more sophisticated taste than the overly sweetened limeade versions you usually find around town, so we’ll definitely be back for more. The drink costs $11, but we recommend going for the half-price happy hour, every day from 4:00 to 7:00. Call 305-448-2111, or visit www.berriesinthegrove.com.
Starts: Oct. 23. Daily, 2006