Pineapple Sage Mojito

By Claire Bradley | Photo by Clara Rice

 

Editor’s note: After writer Claire Bradley visited Flowerland nursery in Albany, California, for her Summer 2024 story on edible flowers, she created this recipe to show how to use some of the flowers in a cocktail. When it came time to photograph for the story, Bradley mixed up some of the drinks at the nursery, where photographer Clara Rice took advantage of the shadows cast on the concrete floor in the nursery’s fern room.

 

Pineapple Sage Mojitos

• 1 healthy bunch freshly picked pineapple sage leaves and flowers (divided)
• ¾ ounce Pineapple Sage Simple Syrup (below)
• 2 ounces white rum
• 1 ounce fresh-squeezed lime juice
• 2 dashes aromatic bitters

Muddle 5 or 6 fresh pineapple sage leaves with Pineapple Sage Simple Syrup. Shake with rum, lime juice, bitters, a few pineapple sage flowers, and 1 or 2 ice cubes until just combined. Pour into a highball or double rocks glass and fill with ice. Garnish with fresh pineapple sage leaves and flowers and serve.

 

Pineapple Sage Simple Syrup

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 healthy bunch pineapple sage leaves and flowers

Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat, add pineapple sage leaves and flowers, cover, and let sit for 24 to 48 hours. Strain out and discard the leaves and flowers before use. If stored in a sealed glass jar in the fridge, the syrup will keep for about a month.