• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • Free Bonus
  • About
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter

Boulder LocavoreĀ®

Easy Flavorful Recipes for Everyday

menu icon
go to homepage
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • Free Bonus
  • About
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Home
    • Recipes
    • Free Bonus
    • About
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter
  • Ɨ

    Home Ā» Cocktails Ā» Watermelon Mojito & other Costa Rican Cocktails (recipes)

    LAST UPDATED: December 17, 2018 • FIRST PUBLISHED: August 13, 2011 By Toni Dash 19 Comments

    Watermelon Mojito & other Costa Rican Cocktails (recipes)

    Jump to Recipe

    This post may include affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Watermelon Mojito cocktail and other Costa Rican cocktails title image

    Watermelon Mojito, Basil Mojito, an Iguana and Coconut Rum shot. All local Costa Rican cocktails you can sip at home with these authentic recipes!

    Watermelon Mojito cocktail and other Costa Rican cocktails title image

    Updated December 2018

    To say this vacation was ‘planned’ would be a gross overstatement. The realization of summer ending, coupled with a frantic call to the dog kennel while using Marriott points as a location divining rod were the instruments landing me in Guanacaste Costa Rica this week.

    No complaints certainly. For those landlocked in the middle states it’s a perfect exotic hop. A daily Frontier flight from Denver leaves at midnight and arrives in San Jose Costa Rica at 5 a.m.

    A bit of sleep on the plane and you are in a lush paradise more affordably than traveling to many of the states in the U.S.

    With the complete absence of planning and preparation we’ve been offered some grace from the Travel Gods.

    Guanacaste Costa Rica

    This is the rainy season, which we knew, however we did not realize Guanacaste, on the north-west Pacific Ocean side of Costa Rica, is a dry forest (vs. rain forest).

    It is certainly verdant and ‘jungley’ as you’d expect. Humid and hot as well, though a microclimate providing when other regions are experiencing mist and rains, this area is spared some.

    We came, knees bent, ready for landlocked days in the JW Marriott and have not found any hindrance to our usual adventurous pursuits.

    JW Marriott Guanacaste Costa Rica beach umbrellas

    When I travel I appreciate the amenities of a hotel or resort, and the security, though become quickly antsy wanting to get out to see what the real people are doing.

    Of course a big part of that is the food. I want to know and eat what’s local, how they grow their food, what the local diet is like.

    And that goes for the cocktails as well.

    After not quite enough sleep on the plane followed by a 4 ½ hour drive to Guanacaste from San Jose, I’m deposited in a beach side table of the Azul Grill at the JW Marriott on Day 1.

    It’s late afternoon, I’m feeling the effects of needing to ground myself before venturing out. Gazing out at the brooding sea and sky, wondering what it has in store seems the highest degree of ponderance I can muster.

    trio of fresh fish tacos on a white plate in Costa Rica

    Our friendly ‘Tico’ (Costa Rican term for a native or local) server beams with what I’ve found in all my meetings with locals over the few trips I’ve taken here: they are relaxed, friendly and genuinely happy people.

    We begin talking about the food of the region. It is abundant with fresh seafood. The beef in Central America is also notable.

    Everyone knows about the coffee and tropical fruits (much of which is exported out of Costa Rica).

    frosty cold mug of Imperial Beer in Guanacaste Costa Rica
    Imperial is one of Costa Rica’s prized local beers and commands rave review from locals and visitors as well

    Basil Mojito

    When ordering something to drink I had to pass on the Imperial Beer due to gluten but I asked for something was local or a specialty.

    Our server returned with something I’d never imagine: a Basil Mojito.

    With rum being made locally from sugar cane, it is clearly the liquor of choice.

    Everything in this drink is local. It bears the refreshing quality of a traditional mojito but with the fantastic flavor of the basil.

    As I sipped slowly, our server politely observed and returned wondering if perhaps I did not care for his concoction. Quite the contrary I told him, could I please have the recipe!

    Costa Rica Basil Mojito

    Costa Rican Basil Mojito and other local cocktails

    Basil Mojito Cocktail

    A twist on a traditional mojito using basil instead of mint!
    5 from 18 votes
    Print Save Recipe Recipe Saved! Pin Rate
    Course: Cocktail
    Cuisine: Costa Rican
    Prep Time: 5 minutes
    Total Time: 5 minutes
    Servings: 1 cocktail
    Calories: 450kcal
    Author: Toni Dash
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Ingredients

    • 10 basil leaves
    • 5 lime wedges
    • 2 ounces simple syrup
    • 3 ounces white rum
    • Splash ginger ale
    • Ice cubes

    Instructions

    • In a 16 ounce glass, muddle (mash together) the basil leaves and lime wedges.  
    • Add the simple syrup and rum. Stir to combine. 
    • Fill glass with ice cubes and add the splash of ginger ale.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 450kcal | Carbohydrates: 76g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 0g | Saturated Fat: 0g | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 40mg | Potassium: 377mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 47g | Vitamin A: 380IU | Vitamin C: 97.5mg | Calcium: 111mg | Iron: 4.1mg
    Did you make this recipe?Mention @boulderlocavore or tag #boulderlocavore!

    Tamarindo Costa Rica sunset 2

    Watermelon Mojito

    Another gold star libation (and one noted as a recommendation from ‘the Liquid Chef’) was a Sandia Mojito; translated a ‘Watermelon Mojito’.

    This I enjoyed late evening along the side of the winding azure-tiled serpentine pool where it meets the sea watching the most extraordinary sunset I may have ever seen.

    Like a light show that never seems to end, presenting full horizon displays of brilliant orange hues mixed with pink. Unforgettable.

    Regrettably I do not have a photo of the original cocktail (or this particular sunset to share) but please believe this is as refreshing and delicious on the eyes as it is on the palette.

    So much so that I came home and developed a boozy popsicle recipe using the same cocktail! It’s very popular!

    Watermelon Mojito cocktail and other Costa Rican cocktails title image

    Watermelon Mojito

    Refreshing watermelon makes this mojito a thrist-quenching cocktail!
    5 from 19 votes
    Print Save Recipe Recipe Saved! Pin Rate
    Course: Cocktail
    Cuisine: Costa Rican
    Prep Time: 5 minutes
    Total Time: 5 minutes
    Servings: 1 cocktail
    Calories: 260kcal
    Author: Toni Dash
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Ingredients

    • 4-2 inch cubes of seedless watermelon
    • 6-8 mint leaves
    • 1 1/2 ounces freshly squeezed lemon juice strained for seeds
    • 1 1/2 ounces simple syrup
    • 1 1/2 ounces white rum
    • Club soda

    Instructions

    • Muddle (mash together) the watermelon, mint leaves with the lemon juice in the bottom of a 16 ounce glass.  
    •  Fill glass with ice. In a shaker combine the rum and simple syrup; pour into glass over ice. Add a splash of club soda to fill glass.
    • In a shaker combine the rum and simple syrup; pour into glass over ice. 
    • Add a splash of club soda to fill glass.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 260kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 0g | Saturated Fat: 0g | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 28mg | Potassium: 170mg | Fiber: 0g | Sugar: 39g | Vitamin A: 900IU | Vitamin C: 27.6mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 2.1mg
    Did you make this recipe?Mention @boulderlocavore or tag #boulderlocavore!
    Tamarindo Costa Rica iguana
    This rogue iguana we spotted hiding in a tree stump with tourists popping out of a restaurant to feed it fruit on the forks they were eating from (ick). The polite restaurant owners said nothing, though the chattering in Spanish gave clue to their thinking about tourists giving lunch to the skulking lizard.

    Iguana Cocktail

    At the risk of sounding like I turned this trip into a complete booze fest, I tried an ‘Iguana’ in Tamarindo; a surf town sporting what some believe are the best surf beaches in the world.

    A heat seeking missile to try anything novel with merit (I’m not one for kooky concoctions without purpose, or drinks that are a blinding shade of blue), this was simple and worth the try.

    A light tequila sipper, it would fall into the family of ‘skinny cocktails’ before they became en vogue.

    Iguana Cocktail from Costa Rica
    An ‘iguana’; much prettier than its local namesake
    Iguana Cocktail from Costa Rica

    Iguana Cocktail

    A light refreshing tequila cocktail!
    5 from 18 votes
    Print Save Recipe Recipe Saved! Pin Rate
    Course: Cocktail
    Cuisine: Costa Rican
    Prep Time: 5 minutes
    Total Time: 5 minutes
    Servings: 1
    Calories: 75kcal
    Author: Toni Dash
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Ingredients

    • 1 ounce tequila
    • 1/2 Lime
    • Ginger ale

    Instructions

    • Fill a 12 ounce glass with ice.  
    • Pour in tequila, squeeze the lime (ensure no seeds go into the drink) and finish with ginger ale to fill the glass.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 75kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 0g | Fat: 0g | Saturated Fat: 0g | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 0mg | Fiber: 0g | Sugar: 0g | Vitamin C: 9.7mg | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 0.2mg
    Did you make this recipe?Mention @boulderlocavore or tag #boulderlocavore!
    Tamarindo Costa Rica sunset
    The sunset from the beach in front of Nibbana’s in Tamarindo

    Coconut Rum shot

    At this particular restaurant, Nibbana Beach Bar and Grill (Tamarindo), they completed the service by bringing all the diners a shot glass of what they said was ‘coconut milk and sugar cane’.

    One sip and I was sure it was RUM made FROM sugar cane.

    It was quite delicious and not overly sweet. My guess at the mixology.

    Watermelon Mojito cocktail and other Costa Rican cocktails title image

    Coconut Milk Rum shot

    A tropical shot cocktail with coconut milk, simple syrup and rum!
    5 from 18 votes
    Print Save Recipe Recipe Saved! Pin Rate
    Course: Cocktail
    Cuisine: Costa Rican
    Prep Time: 5 minutes
    Total Time: 5 minutes
    Servings: 1
    Calories:
    Author: Toni Dash
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Ingredients

    • ½ shot white rum
    • splash coconut milk
    • splash simple syrup

    Instructions

    • Combine all ingredients and drink!
    Did you make this recipe?Mention @boulderlocavore or tag #boulderlocavore!

    More Costa Rican Recipes and Travel Tips:

    Costa Rican Ceviche (marinated fresh fish) Recipe & Dining in Guanacaste Costa Rica

    Authentic Costa Rican Gallo Pinto (recipes) & Touring Guanacaste Costa Rica

    Surf School Tamarindo Costa Rica

    If you’ve made this Watermelon Mojito or any of these Costa Rican cocktail recipes please RATE THE RECIPE below!

    SUBSCRIBE and FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK , TWITTER , INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST !

    « Drunken Sailor Rum Cupcakes with Pineapple Frosting
    Authentic Costa Rican Gallo Pinto (beans and rice) recipe & Touring Guanacaste, Costa Rica »

    ABOUT THE AUTHOR

    TONI DASH
    Toni Dash head shot

    Toni Dash, is a Certified Nutrition Coach and the writer/blogger, photographer, recipe developer and creator of Boulder LocavoreĀ®. She has been developing easy to make, well-tested recipes since 2010. Her seasonal recipes bring excitement to the dining table for both gluten-free and gluten diners. Toni has been featured in numerous publications and on culinary websites for her creative, delicious recipes and travel features. For more details, check out her About page.

    Free Email Course

    5 FAST & EASY 15-MINUTE RECIPES
    Spending too much time in the kitchen?
    These recipes are fast, easy, and perfect for every occasion.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




    1. Sabrina says

      December 18, 2018 at 7:30 am

      5 stars
      This looks like the perfect drink to sip on and pretend it’s not freezing cold outside right now.A nice little mental get away!

      Reply
    2. Demeter says

      December 18, 2018 at 7:15 am

      5 stars
      It is definitely on my bucket list and encoraging to know you were able to get it all together so quickly to travel. This watermelon mojito looks so light and refreshing.

      Reply
    3. Aimee Shugarman says

      December 18, 2018 at 6:28 am

      5 stars
      Mojitos are the best, love this recipe!

      Reply
    4. Jenni says

      December 18, 2018 at 5:49 am

      5 stars
      Oh my gosh, so many great cocktail recipes! I am saving these for the dead of winter when I need to pretend I’m on a tropical island!

      Reply
    5. Courtney O'Dell says

      December 18, 2018 at 5:49 am

      5 stars
      I could really go for a whole pitcher of these right now – so easy and delicious! And you make me want to visit Costa Rica!!

      Reply
    6. Cheryl says

      December 18, 2018 at 5:42 am

      5 stars
      This cocktail is like taking a mini vacation!! delicious

      Reply
    7. Lauren says

      August 25, 2011 at 9:05 pm

      Wow… your photos are amazing, and the drinks all sound delish!

      Reply
    8. Jenny @ Savour the Senses says

      August 17, 2011 at 3:08 pm

      So jealous of your vacation! The drinks look great too =) My friends and I made orange mint hibiscus mojitos this summer that were out of this world! Here's the recipe if you are interested. >I hope I can go to Costa Rica some day!

      Reply
    9. Sarah Catherine says

      August 16, 2011 at 3:34 pm

      I'd love to try the watermelon mojito, sounds amazing šŸ™‚

      Reply
    « Older Comments

    Primary Sidebar

    About Toni Dash

    Toni Dash BoulderLocavore.com Head Shot

    Welcome! I’m Toni. I’m a Certified Nutrition Coach and my goal is to MAKE YOUR LIFEĀ EASIER with delicious, well-tested recipes and travel tips!Ā More About Me …

    Search Boulder Locavore

    AS FEATURED ON….

    BoulderLocavore.com Featured By Press

    Easy Dinners

    • Instant Pot Jambalaya Instant Pot Jambalaya Recipe: Quick & Easy Comfort Food
    • Instant Pot Smoked Paprika & Garlic Chicken Legs with lime wedges on a pewter platter Instant Pot Smoked Paprika & Garlic Chicken Legs
    • Korean BBQ Chicken title image Easy Korean BBQ Chicken recipe
    • Instant Pot Corned Beef Brisket title image Instant Pot Corned Beef Brisket: an Easy One Pot Meal
    • Shrimp Salad title image Shrimp Salad Recipe
    • Green Chile Stew title image Hearty New Mexican Green Chile Pork Stew

    TRENDING RIGHT NOW

    • How to Make Moist Homemade Shredded Chicken Breast title How to Make Moist Homemade Shredded Chicken Breast Recipe
    • Instant Pot Jambalaya Instant Pot Jambalaya Recipe: Quick & Easy Comfort Food
    • Korean BBQ Chicken title image Easy Korean BBQ Chicken recipe
    • Sparkling Cranberry Vodka Punch Sparkling Cranberry Vodka Punch Recipe
    • cilantro lime rice title image Easy Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice Recipe
    • Muffin Tin Eggs Denver Omelet title image Muffin Tin Denver Omelet: Muffin Tin Eggs You’ll Love!

    Footer

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Pinterest
    • Instagram

    Contact | About | Privacy Policy | Disclosure Policy | Accessibility Statement | Cookie Policy


    SIGN ME UP to get FREE recipes directly to my inbox!

    Don't miss our TRAVEL SECTION!


    Copyright Ā© 2010-2023 All Rights Reserved

    Boulder Locavore is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC associates program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.