This champagne mojito recipe with grapefruit has that extra special sparkle that only a bottle of bubbly will give! If you love mojitos and you haven’t tried them with sparkling wine then you are in for a serious treat!

Debbie and I love grapefruit mojitos. There is something about them that is so freeking refreshing on a hot summer day. The grapefruit with the mint and the lime is the perfect citrucy mix with just a bit more of a fruity taste that a classic mojito.

In the summer we both make sure we have a large crop of mint growing on our decks! You can make Mojitos in many different ways, but they absolutely have to have mint and lime!

As in all our mojito recipes, we’ve included a recipe for a single mojito and also a mojito pitcher in this post.

Grapefruit Mojito Ingredients:

Mojitos always have a few specific ingredients. Without these, the cocktail would not be a mojito:

rum
club soda or in this case, champagne or sparkling wine
lime juice (freshly squeezed is the best)
mint
simple syrup or sugar

However, there can be many variations to the classic mojito ingredients above such as:

grapefruit (like we have done in this mojito recipe)
raspberries, blackberries, strawberries or any other type of berry, but these three are the most common I think.
watermelon
cucumber even!
blood orange – one of our favs!

Tips to Make the Perfect Mojito

always use the fresh squeezed grapefruit juice if you can. It ALWAYS tastes the best.
likewise, always choose the best mint you can find. If you buy it in the store, make sure to open the package and make sure its fresh! Or better yet, grow your own. Mint is so easy to grow!
Debbie and I usually make a large batch of simple syrup when we make it. Then we can keep it in our fridge for when you really feel like a mojito! Having it on hand is one less step to quench that mojito craving!

Best Rum for Mojitos

You can use whatever rum you have on hand for mojitos. That said, not all rums are created equal. Also, should you use white rum or dark rum for your mojio?

Personally, I usually like a dark rum in my classic lime mojito, because I like the flavor more. However, for fruity variations of the mojito, Debbie and I think a white rum lets the flavor of the fruit shine through.

Here are a few of our favorite rums:

Appletons White Jamaican Rum
Mount Gay Silver Barbados Rum (this is also white) – Mount Gay also makes one of my favorite dark rums
Hatian Rhum Barbancourt White

Not to say that you can’t use Bacardi white, but these rums above have much better flavor. In my opinion…

Best Bubbles for a Champagne Mojito

The most special part of this Grapefruit Mojito is the champagne or sparkling wine we used in place of the usual club soda.

To be correct, we made this with sparkling wine. Did you know that only bubbles made from grapes that come from the Champagne region of France can be called champagne? Otherwise, producers are not legally allowed to use the name.

Fun Fact: In the 1500’s champagne was called “the Devil’s Wine” because it was created by accident and corks would pop off or bottles would explode! I guess someone got brave and decided to give it a try! Thank god they did!

Anyways… since champagne is expensive, we always use sparkling wine and then we call it a champagne mojito. Just to be fancy 🙂

Our fav budget sparkling wines to use for this mojito are:

Yellow Tail Bubbles – for an inexpensive but decent sparkling wine. We also love it because it comes with a cap that you can put back on to store your wine.
La Marca Prosecco – this one is good just on its own too
Lunetta Prosecco – also good on its own

How to Make a Simple Syrup:

A simple syrup is just as easy to make as its name implies! There are just a few easy steps.

add 1 cup of sugar to 1 cup of water.
bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer.
simmer for 5 – 10 mins or until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture has thickened slightly. You want it to just coat the back of a spoon. You don’t want it too thick.

And that’s it! The simple syrup will keep in an airtight jar for a long time in the fridge so we make a bunch and keep it on hand.

How to Make a Grapefruit Champagne Mojito

Making this mojito recipe is easy as pie. You just need to know a few steps and use a little elbow grease.

Juice your grapefruits. This little juicer tool works great.
Add the rum, mint, and grapefruit juice to a highball glass. Smash it all up with a cocktail muddler until the mint is slightly broken up. (We love these nice tall highball glasses for mojitos!)
Add the lime juice, and the simple syrup. Muddle briefly again.
Fill the glass with ice.
Top the mixture with sparkling wine add a sprig of mint for garnish before serving.

How to Muddle a Mojito

The easiest way to muddle a mojito is with a muddler. That said, we have been known to get a little creative when one isn’t readily available.

Use a spoon or the back of a butter knife. Anything that you can get in that glass and crush the mint a bit.

Don’t over muddle the mint. It can get bitter when its crushed too hard.

Check out this funny post for do’s and don’ts of making a mojito!

Champagne Grapefruit Mojito Pitcher Recipe:

It’s a cinch to make a pitcher of these mojitos for easy serving when you have guests or if you just know you and your drinking partner are going to have a few!

Simply measure your rum first, then measure all your other ingredients based on how much rum you used. For example if you used 8 oz of rum (enough for 4 cocktails):

8 oz rum
8 oz of grapefruit juice
a great big handful of mint
2 oz of simple syrup (or more to taste)
2 oz lime juice (or more to taste)

Follow the same instructions for making 1 grapefruit mojito, but don’t add ice and don’t add the sparkling wine. When you go to make your cocktail, fill a glass with ice, then add 3 oz of the mojito pitcher mix and fill up the rest of your glass with sparkling wine.

Other Mojito Recipes You Might Like:

You may have to slightly adjust the amount of mojito pitcher mix for each cocktail, but after the first cocktail is made, you will know exactly how much to add for the next. And the next. And the next…. 😉

If you’ve tried this champagne mojito recipe with grapefruit then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let us know how it turned out in the comments below. We love hearing from you!

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