Equal play

The repeating Iron Chef America episode this week is from a couple years back, and I have to say, is now (I'd never seen it before) one of my all-time favorites. Each of the chefs get their own mixologist who created a cocktail for each course. And they looked yummy! Anyway, the reason I bring this up now, is that Iron Chef Batali's mixologist was Tony Abou-Ganim, who I interviewed a couple years back — probably right around the taping of this episode, and I didn't even know about it! Tony, among owning his own bar and touring the world teaching his skills, is also the mixologist for Equal, which is how I came to interview him. You're probably wondering why Equal has a "modern mixologist" on payroll, as did I, but surprisingly, you can make a lot of great cocktails using the powder filled packets. My favorite, and the one Tony made for me:

MIXED BERRY MOJITO
Ingredients:
8-12 fresh mint leaves
3-4 fresh blackberries
3-4 fresh blueberries
3-4 fresh red raspberries
1/8 cup lime juice
2-4 teaspons Equal Spoonful or 1-2 packets Equal sweetener
1/4 cup soda water
1/4 cup light rum
1 mint sprig

Directions:
1. Carefully press mint leaves into the bottom of the glass with the back of a wooden spoon to release their oils (do not tear leaves).
2. Mix mint, crushed wild berries, lime juice and Equal in a highball glass.
3. Fill glass with crushed ice (cubed ice will not work).
4. Stir well until the ice is reduced by 1/3 and then top with more crushed ice, stirring until the glass begins to frost on the outside.
5. Pour in rum and soda water and stir again. Garnish with a sprig of fresh mint.