Where do I start with this drink? It’s such a tasty take on a classic Mojito with plenty of mint and lime, it uses diet lemon-lime soda to things light -122 calories for the drink– and that gorgeous color? It comes from the gin itself! This Skinny Gin Mojito uses Empress 1908 Gin, which naturally has a pretty indigo color due to the butterfly pea tea extract. Once its combined with either citrus or tonic water, that indigo color magically changes into the lavender color you see in this drink.
What goes into the Skinny Gin Mojito:
- Empress Gin. I picked up my bottle at BevMo. You can certainly make this drink with a different gin (I do like Hendrick’s as well) but the Empress Gin will give your drink this pretty purple color. And it tastes great, too!
- Lime juice. Mojito’s always have lime, and technically this drink it topped off with a lemon-lime diet soda, like Sprite or 7-up. But- adding the extra lime juice not only gives the drink a little extra zippiness (is that even a word?) but it also reacts with the butterfly pea tea extract in the Empress Gin to take it from a darker indigo color to a pretty lavender. Its just kind of fun to make things magically change color 😉
- Mint leaves. You’ll need at least 7-8 for each mojito, so buy a large bunch of it! And make sure to give the leaves a little smack smack on the back of your hand before adding to the drink, to release all of those fragrant oils.
- Diet or Sugar-Free lemon-lime soda. I used diet 7-up, but whatever you have will work. Traditionally, mojitos are made with liquor, mint, lime juice, simple syrup and plain soda water. By swapping the simple syrup + soda water out for the diet lemon-lime soda, we still get the sweetness without the extra calories.
- Optional lime wheel or wedge for garnish.
Looking for more skinny cocktails to wet your whistle? Check out my low-cal Blood Orange Rum Buck, or my skinny tiki cocktail- That Skinny Beach.
The Skinny Gin Mojito
Ingredients
- 2 ounces Empress 1908 Gin
- 1/2 ounce lime juice
- 7-8 mint leaves
- 4-6 ounces diet lemon-lime soda
- lime wheels optional garnish
Instructions
- Pour gin and lime juice into a cocktail shaker. Add mint leaves and 5-6 ice cubes.
- Shake vigorously to break up mint leaves and infuse the mint flavor into the gin.
- Pour (not strain) everything from the shaker into a tall, skinny glass. Add a few more ice cubes and top off with the diet soda. Garnish with lime wheels and drink with a straw. Cheers!