The mojito gets a groove on

With summer on the way, the city’s best bartenders are blissed-out over the fresh fruits and herbs raining down from farmers markets. Mixologists are muddling blackberries, candying kumquats and macerating handfuls of mint leaves -- and they seem to be having a blast.

That’s why a mojito’s not just a mojito anymore.

Tart and tangy kumquats inspired an irresistible candied kumquat mojito at Norman’s on the Sunset Strip; for a few more weeks, you can also try Norman’s Cherimoya Destroyer, made with Skyy Melon vodka and the perfumey fruit also known as a custard apple. In late June, when the unusual Buddha’s Hand citrus comes into season, it will be the cornerstone of a vanilla vodka-based cocktail.

At the new Hollywood restaurant Hungry Cat, where the juice squeezer is front and center at the bar, fruit is piled high for an ever-changing list of newly minted drinks such as a recent blood-orange Negroni or an upcoming white sangria with fresh peaches, nectarines and plums.

“It’s definitely a growing trend,” says Peter Birmingham, beverage director at Norman’s and a 25-year veteran mixologist who often visits other restaurants to see what their bartenders are up to. He says there’s an adventurous spirit in the air for bartenders these days.

At Norman’s, Birmingham collaborates with pastry chef Sam Christopher, who “loves getting inspired and getting us [the bartenders] inspired by new and unusual fruits and vegetables that are coming out.”

Elsewhere, rhubarb flavors a pseudo-mojito (it uses vodka instead of rum) at Meson G; there’s a mint-lime-cucumber martini offered at W’s poolside restaurant Backyard. At Geisha House, various sake cocktails call for ginger, lychee, Japanese cucumber and other fresh ingredients.

Drinks with direction

These aren’t the silly, sweet, anything-goes cocktails of seasons past, those seemingly random concoctions of half a dozen different spirits and flavors. These are sophisticated, delicious drinks that make sense.

“We wanted the bar to be a reflection of the kitchen and have fresh foods prepared by the bartenders daily,” says Hungry Cat’s Matthew Jeronimo.

“We’re using clean, beautiful, hand-chosen spirits; we’re using beautiful fresh fruit that’s grown locally. Every single night, whoever’s bartending, we try to run a nightly drink special based on seasonal fruit.”

It seems as if bartenders like Jeronimo are jumping on the summer fruit even before the pastry chefs can get their hands on it. Delicious flavors and aromas of blackberries dominate your first sips of his muddled-blackberry mojito, one of the several muddled-berry drinks at Hungry Cat. It’s a pretty drink with layers of icy white, pink and deeper pink colors and as light and refreshing as it looks.

The summer version of the signature cocktail at the Brazilian steakhouse Fogo de Chao is called tropical caipirinha. A caipirinha is a traditional Brazilian cocktail made with a Brazilian white rum called cachaca (widely available here). For summer, the Fogo de Chao bartenders muddle more than a cup of fruit -- passionfruit, lime, pineapple, kiwi, mango and strawberries -- for each serving. The heady aroma of passionfruit dominates this tall, iced cooler with a light, nectar-like texture.

“I see fresh coolers being a large part of this summer,” says Birmingham. “The interest in sangria is intense. More and more bartenders are offering a fresh, light, lower-alcohol kind of beverage using seasonal ingredients. We are making sangrias this year with black Bing cherries. We infuse the cherries for a week in the refrigerator in a red wine base, then we add other additional fruits each day.”

But great summer drinks aren’t always alcoholic, of course. Last year we were taken with the minty-lime coolers at Ciudad downtown; this year we can’t get enough of the cucumber coolers. Served in a tall glass over plenty of ice, they’re preternaturally refreshing, with a clean, crisp fragrance and the light, not-too-sweet taste of cukes and lime.

You can make plain and spiked coolers from the same cucumber-lime base. Ciudad’s cocktail version includes a shot of Absolut Currant vodka, adding a kick and a pleasantly tart berry note.

But you can also go in the other direction and make or request virgin versions of several of these summer drinks to delicious effect.

Herbal experiments

Norman’s candied kumquat mojito is positively smashing when made with rum as it’s designed, but a kid’s version ordered by some friends of mine -- candied kumquat syrup in soda water -- was almost as wonderful.

“I look for a beginning, middle and finish on everything, just as one would look for in a wine,” says Jeronimo. “Underlying notes, high notes -- something multidimensional.”

Herbs as ingredients for cocktails are growing in popularity too. Mint and basil concoctions inspired by traditional drinks from countries of the Pacific Rim are showing up on specialty drink lists, and the recent appearance of tea martinis suggests that leaves and other greenery are also coming on line as part of mixologists’ repertoires.

Hungry Cat bartenders plan to “introduce more of a bitter spectrum” to the specialty cocktail list, according to Jeronimo, perhaps by adding a wheat-grass press to the standard bar equipment.

Whether they’re thinking bitter or sweet, the best bartenders like not only to experiment with seasonal ingredients, but also to customize cocktails for each drinker. So the next time you perch on a stool, take a look not only at the bottles arrayed within arm’s reach of that busy bartender, but also at the fresh ingredients on hand.

Love strawberries? Mad for mint? Let your mixologist know. It’ll make all the difference in your drink.

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Tropical caipirinha

Total time: 30 minutes

Servings: 2

Note: From Fogo de Chao. Cachaca is Brazilian white rum, available in fine wine shops and liquor stores.

1 passion fruit, halved

6 lime slices

1/2 cup diced pineapple

1/2 cup peeled, sliced kiwi

1/2 cup peeled, diced mango

1/2 cup sliced strawberries

6 tablespoons sugar, divided

4 ounces cachaca, divided

1. For each drink, place half the passion fruit, lime, pineapple, kiwi, mango, strawberries and 3 tablespoons sugar in a cocktail shaker.

2. Mix and smash with a wooden spoon. The fruit, after smashing, should fill half the shaker. Fill the rest of the shaker with ice cubes. Add 2 ounces cachaca, shake and pour into a tall 14-ounce glass.

3. Repeat with the remaining fruit, sugar and cachaca to make the second drink. Garnish with additional fruit if desired. Serve immediately.

Each serving: 373 calories; 2 grams protein; 63 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams fiber; 1 gram fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 mg. cholesterol; 6 mg. sodium.

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Cucumber cooler

Total time: 20 minutes

Servings: 12

Note: From Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger of Ciudad.

2 quarts water

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup lime juice

1 cucumber with skin, ends removed, cut into chunks

1. Combine water, sugar and lime juice and stir until the sugar is dissolved.

2. Pour the lime-sugar mixture into a blender (in batches if necessary). Add the cucumber and blend until smooth. Chill. Serve over ice.

Cucumber cocktail: Pour 1 ounce of Absolut Currant vodka into an old-fashioned glass filled with ice. Top off with the cucumber cooler. Garnish with a cucumber slice and serve. Serves 1.

Each serving (nonalcoholic): 27 calories; 0 protein; 7 grams carbohydrates; 0 fiber; 0 fat;

0 saturated fat; 0 cholesterol;

0 sodium.

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Candied kumquat mojito

Total time: 20 minutes, plus macerating time

Servings: 1

Note: From Peter Birmingham at Norman’s, where the drink is made with Ron Matusalem Platino rum. Birmingham also recommends Bacardi Silver or Cruzan Estate Light rum. You’ll have enough simple syrup and candied kumquats for up to 12 drinks.

Candied kumquats

1 cup boiling water

1 cup sugar

12 kumquats, whole

1 stalk lemongrass, ends trimmed and two outer layers removed, slightly smashed with the side of a chef’s knife

1/2 teaspoon orange blossom water

1. Add the boiling water to the sugar. Stir to mix and dissolve the sugar, cool.

2. Bring a pot of water to boil. Blanch the kumquats for 1 minute, drain.

3. Place the sugar water, lemongrass and orange blossom water in a bowl. Add the kumquats, placing a small plate on top to submerge the kumquats. Cover and refrigerate for at least 12 hours and up until 3 weeks.

Simple syrup

3/4 cup boiling water

3/4 cup sugar

Add the boiling water to the sugar. Stir to mix and dissolve the sugar. Cool.

Cocktail

6 mint leaves

3/4 ounce (5 teaspoons) simple syrup, divided

1 candied kumquat

4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

2 ounces rum

1 tablespoon pineapple juice

1 wedge lime

Splash club soda

1. In a double old-fashioned glass, muddle the mint with one-fourth ounce (two teaspoons) simple syrup. Add the candied kumquat and muddle. Add ice to glass.

2. In a cocktail shaker, mix together the lemon and lime juices, the remaining one-half ounce (about 3 teaspoons) simple syrup, the rum and pineapple juice. Shake well. Pour into the glass, add the wedge of lime and splash of club soda.

Each serving: 200 calories; 0 protein; 19 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram fiber; 0 fat; 0 saturated fat; 0 cholesterol; 3 mg. Sodium.

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Geisha’s kiss

Total time: 5 minutes

Servings: 1

Note: From Geisha House. Lychee juice can be found in Asian and Indian markets.

2 1/2 ounces cold sake

2 ounces lychee juice

1/2 ounce Chambord

Splash of Champagne or sparkling wine

1 fresh-peeled lychee fruit (when in season)

Pour the sake, lychee juice and Chambord into a shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously to combine. Strain into a cocktail glass, then top with a splash of Champagne or sparkling wine and garnish with a fresh-peeled lychee fruit.

Each serving: 185 calories; 1 gram protein; 17 grams carbohydrates;

0 fiber; 0 fat; 0 saturated fat;

0 cholesterol; 3 mg. sodium.

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Muddled blackberry mojito

Total time: 5 minutes

Servings: 1

Note: From Matthew Jeronimo at Hungry Cat, where the cocktail is made with Cruzan Estate Light rum. Simple syrup is made by combining equal parts sugar and water and heating until the sugar is dissolved.

Juice of 2 limes, divided

10 mint leaves

3 blackberries

1 1/2 ounces rum

1 1/2 ounces simple syrup

1ounce seltzer water

1. Squeeze the juice from half a lime into the bottom of a glass. Add the mint leaves. Muddle the mint by crushing or mashing it with a spoon or flat-bottomed rod. The object is to saturate the mint with the liquid and loosely break up the mint. Don’t destroy the mint. It should be broken up well, but gently.

2. Add three blackberries and muddle the berries. Add ice. The secret of a good cocktail is to pack ice to the top of the glass.

3. Add the rum of your choice.

4. Squeeze the juice of the remaining 1 1/2 limes into the cocktail. Add the simple syrup. Stir vigorously

and top with the seltzer water (not 7-Up!).

Each serving: 176 calories; 0 protein; 22 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram fiber; 0 fat; 0 saturated fat; 0 cholesterol; 2 mg. sodium.