Instructions: Wash and dry spearmint, then cut leaves and stems into fine chiffonade.

Place sugar and water in heavy medium saucepan, cover, and bring to full boil. When all the sugar has melted, remove pan from heat. Add mint, cover pan and steep 30 minutes.

Stir lemon juice into syrup. Pour syrup through fine strainer into large glass measuring cup, pressing on solids to extract liquid. There should be about 2 1/2 cups syrup. Discard solids.

Pour syrup carefully into ice cube trays and freeze until solid.

Remove cubes from trays and transfer to plastic container with lid.

Ice cubes will hold two weeks in freezer. Drop into iced tea, sparkling water or bourbon, stir briskly and serve.

For ginger ice cubes: Cut 2 ounces of fresh ginger into inch-long pieces and pulse in food processor until fine. Follow recipe, but infuse for only 5 minutes. Plop the cubes into hibiscus or green tea, tart lemonade or bourbon.

For lemon-grass ice cubes: Cut one (3-ounce) stalk lemon grass into 1/2 inch lengths. Remove zest (peel only, no pith) from 3 whole lemons.

Pulse lemon grass and zest together in food processor until fine.

Follow recipe. Stir cubes into vodka, tequila or yellow Lillet.

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