Watermelon mojito

This watermelon mojito is the perfect light and bright warm-weather cocktail - colorful, refreshing and easy to make too. You'll be sipping them all summer long!

This post may contain affiliate links, where we earn from qualifying purchases. See more details in the policy page.

For a few years between pregnancy and young children, I hardly had a drink other than the occasional beer. Then I was away for a conference and we were offered mojitos and it took me back to earlier times.

It's a wonderfully refreshing cocktail and also easy to add your own little twists to the basic formula, whether fruity like this and my grilled peach mojito, or other twists like my Pimm's mojito, 43 pineapple mojito and champagne mojito.

What's in a mojito?

The mojito is a classic Cuban drink made with rum, lime, mint, sugar and soda water. The exact origins other than Havana are a little up for debate, both in who created it and why. But over time, it has gained worldwide popularity.

For me, Madrid is where they became one of my favorite cocktails, and arguably got me in to cocktails in general which I hadn't been before. A few of us were introduced to a hidden Cuban bar where they were one of the go-to choices, and they also appeared at another favorite spot in the old town.

After Madrid, I moved to New York where the variety of cocktail options was much broader. And rather than just classics, you'd find various twists including some fruity ones. While this wasn't a twist I had there, it's certainly one I know I would have picked out as it's so tasty.

With summer just about upon us, this colorful watermelon mojito makes a wonderful extra-refreshing and bright twist on the original. It has a certain lightness but you know there's a little kick of rum, too.

Watermelon has such a vibrant color that is always helpful to make the drink look pretty. But it also has a lovely delicate flavor that is a great addition as well. It also conveniently pairs well with both lime and mint, the main flavors in a mojito.

How to make a watermelon mojito

I've made this a couple of different ways and while it's a little more work, I recommend making watermelon juice first for this. You'll see in the picture above when I tried muddling the watermelon with the mint and the color is nowhere near as bright, nor is the flavor. It's also more 'bitty' so not as easy to drink.

So instead I recommend:

• First make watermelon juice by putting chunks of watermelon juice in a blender and blend until smooth. Strain to remove excess pulp and seeds.
• Then muddle the mint leaves with lime juice and sugar in the bottom of a glass. Mix in the rum and watermelon juice.
• Add ice, top up with soda water and stir gently to mix together. 

A watermelon mojito makes for such a colorful, refreshing drink that's perfect for summer. As soon as I tried them, I wondered why I didn't try them sooner. Not only are they are great way to use up some extra watermelon (if you ever need an excuse to make them), they're delicious, too. Give them a try and you'll see what I mean!

Looking for more watermelon recipes? Try these!

• Spicy watermelon margarita
• Fruit, herb and feta Israeli couscous salad (which includes watermelon!)
• Coconut watermelon agua fresca
• Watermelon sorbet
• Plus get more inspiration in the cocktail recipes archives.

See some of my favorite cooking tools and ingredients in the Caroline's Cooking Amazon store.  In many locations, you can have wine, spirits and more delivered to your door with Drizly.

This post was first shared in May 2016 and has been updated, primarily with new photos.

Remember to pin for later!