To freshen up the classic mojito, Blue Point Grille turned to the Lounging Gourmet, the Cleveland company behind four floral cocktail mixers: rose, orchid, lavender and hibiscus. The latter is featured in Blue Point's minty rum Mojito Blush. "You tend to smell it first before it even touches your lips," says beverage manager Kurtis Helser. The restaurant also works the elixirs into "Pear"adise Found, a mix of pear vodka, lavender and sparkling lemon soda. "It's something unexpected," says Nora Egger, who founded the Lounging Gourmet two years ago. "It tones down the alcohol and makes [cocktails] really smooth." Home bartenders can buy a 9-ounce bottle at Heinen's ($12.99) and, come late summer, at Williams-Sonoma, which will carry three Lounging Gourmet flavors in 160 stores.
Blue Point Grille, 700 W. St. Clair Ave., Cleveland, 216-875-7827, hrcleveland.com
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