A Drink for Our Times: Swampwater

This is a drink that my family enjoyed at our country club in the 1960's when I was a little girl. Don’t judge me. It is delicious. Although I have never considered joining a country club as an adult and dislike the whole premise, I have continued to enjoy the drink known as “Swampwater.”

Many have commented recently that a drink takes the sting out of the news of the day. While I don’t advocate anesthetizing oneself, I almost always approve of a therapeutic dose of something delicious. With a hefty dose of “charged water” (seltzer or club soda) it is a satisfying virgin cocktail. I recall that grownups usually ordered it with some alcohol added. It goes well with rum, whiskey, vodka, and even gin. Tequila would be terrific with it.

Swampwater

For the base you will need:

A sink & a stove or microwave
A good electric blender
A LOT of mint (if you have a yard overgrown with it, this will fix the problem.)
6 limes
6 lemons
Granulated white sugar (I have also made it with honey and with Splenda for a diabetic friend, and agave might be good, too.)
Water as needed to blend

1) Clean the mint by rinsing multiple times in a lot of water.
2) Remove leaves from stems. Use only the leaves.
3) Fill blender jar with mint leaves (no need to pack them, but you need a lot).
4) Make roughly 2 cups simple syrup: 1 part water to 1 part sugar heated until the sugar melts. Set aside to cool.
5) Juice the lemons and limes and use equal parts each.
6) Add the liquid ingredients to the blender. You may need to add some water in order to get the mixture to blend, if you have used a lot of mint. Note that the sugar syrup does not need to be completely cooled at this point, but be careful, hot ingredients in a blender can escape and burn you!
7) Blend the ingredients until the mint looks like “swamp water.” It should not be so thoroughly blended that the specks of mint become imperceptible and the whole becomes a green liquid. The mint specks should remain distinct and float to the top of the jar in a thick layer.
Transfer mixture from blender jar to container that closes securely. (It is a big cleanup job if this spills in the fridge.)
9) Refrigerate for a day until the mint suspended at the top of the jar sinks and there is no longer a layer of “algae” at the top of the mixture, but a more uniform-looking mixture.

Swampwater base is ready to use now. Put ice in a tall glass. Fill half-full with swamp water. Add club soda or seltzer, and booze if desired. Enjoy.

You may need to adjust the proportions in the recipe to taste, in order to achieve the right balance of sweet and acid.

This sounds delicious. It's a country club cousin of a mojito!

Forgot about this cocktail. Back in the 1970's I had this delicious drink served in a mason jar. Now I have another use for my old mason jars.