A Non Alcoholic Christmas Mojito, Made by the Jug

Method

1. Pick the mint leaves off the stalks and keep six good sprigs back for the glasses.
2. Pile the picked leaves into one palm and clap your hands together once, firmly, until you can smell them.
3. Juice 3 to 4 limes to get 100ml, rolling each one under your hand on the bench first so it gives up more.
4. Pour the syrup into your jug, add the lime juice and stir until the two are properly combined.
5. Drop in the slapped mint and press it once with the back of a spoon, then stop. Once is enough.
6. Cover the jug and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 4, which is where the mint flavour actually comes from.
7. Cut the 2 whole limes into thin wheels, no more than an hour before people arrive so the pith has no time to turn them bitter.
8. Fill each glass to the very top with ice cubes. Half filling them is the most common mistake, and it makes a faster, warmer drink.
9. Pour the cold soda into the jug, over the base, and stir once from the bottom. No more than once.
10. Pour straight into the iced glasses, about two thirds full, and let the foam settle for a moment before topping up.
11. Tuck a lime wheel and a mint sprig into each glass, pressing the sprig down into the ice so it sits near the drinker's nose.
12. Serve immediately, and make the next jug fresh rather than topping up a warm one.

Questions we get asked

How do you make a non alcoholic mojito?

Lime, mint, sugar and soda water, in that order of importance. Stir 25ml of mojito syrup with a good squeeze of fresh lime in the bottom of a tall glass, add mint you have clapped between your palms, fill the glass to the top with ice, then top with cold soda. The three things people get wrong are muddling the mint into shreds, skimping on ice and using warm soda.

Can you make mojitos ahead in a jug?

The base yes, the finished drink no. Syrup, lime juice and mint keep in the fridge for up to twelve hours, and the flavour is better for the wait because the mint has time to steep. Strain the mint out at that point. Soda and ice cannot be made ahead: the soda goes flat, and ice in the jug waters the whole batch rather than one glass.

How much mojito syrup do you use per glass?

About 25ml, a generous tablespoon and a half, then adjust once you have tasted the first one. Limes vary in acidity through the year, so a jug made in December often wants more syrup than the same jug made in June. Taste the base before the soda goes in, because soda hides sweetness and sharpness together.

What can I serve guests who are not drinking at Christmas?

Something that took as much thought as the wine did. A jug like this one, poured into the same glassware everybody else is using, reads as hospitality in a way a warm bottle of lemonade at the back of the fridge never will. If you are sending a gift rather than pouring one, our non-alcoholic hampers are built around food and treats rather than a bottle, and there are more ideas for the table in our Christmas drinks board.

The bottle, the jug and the glasses

Three things, and the rest is limes. The syrup is Bacanha Sirop Brut, $29.95 for 400ml and two and a half jugs to the bottle. The jug is the Royal Ascot acrylic scallop pitcher at $39.95, because acrylic will not shatter on pavers or by a pool and it is light enough that a child can pour from it. The matching acrylic scallop tumblers are $7.95 each, with the rest of our acrylic drinkware.

It all sits with our festive entertaining essentials, and the food that goes beside the drinks is in our guide to Christmas food in Australia. Shipping is free Australia-wide on orders over $100, and orders placed before 12pm on a weekday are dispatched the same day from our Corio, Victoria warehouse, tracked with Australia Post. To send the whole idea to somebody else, our Christmas hampers are packed by hand in the same warehouse.