mojito
A mojito is one of Cubans most iconic cocktails made with white rum, fresh lime, mint, sugar, and club soda. It’s crisp, refreshing, and deceptively simple with the mint and lime balancing the rum rather than covering it up. This version sticks close to the classic Cuban style using fresh ingredients and just enough sweetness to bring everything together.
What is the history of mojito?
Mojito has been around in some form for centuries although no one knows exactly who invented it. One popular theory traces it back to 1500s Cuba and a drink called El Draque (made with aguardiente, lime, sugar, and mint) associated with English privateer Sir Francis Drake. Aguardiente was much harsher than the rum we drink today so the lime, sugar, and mint also made it a little easier to drink. As Cuban rum became more refined it replaced aguardiente and the mojito gradually took its modern form. By the 1930s mojito was already appearing in Havana cookbooks and bar menus. It later became famously associated with Ernest Hemingway and La Bodeguita del Medio largely because of a handwritten note supposedly signed by Hemingway praising the bars mojitos. The authenticity of that note has since been questioned and the Hemingway connection may be more marketing than history. Even the origin of the name ‘mojito’ is debated with theories connecting it to the Spanish mojar (meaning to wet) or mojo (a Cuban citrus based sauce).
What is the difference between white and dark rum?
White rum is typically lighter and cleaner in flavor. It may be aged and then filtered to remove its colors leaving subtle notes of sugarcane, vanilla, and fruit. Dark rum tends to have a deeper, richer flavor with notes of caramel, molasses, spice, and oak. For mojitos white rum is the traditional choice because it complements the fresh lime and mint without overpowering them.
How to make a mojito?
Add the mint leaves, lime juice, sugar, and rum in a tall glass. Press the mint with the muddler enough to release its oils without shredding it. Fill the glass with ice then top with club soda and gently stir from the bottom up. Garnish with a big mint sprig and a lime wedge.
Tips
Don’t over muddle the mint. Shredding it can make the drink bitter.
Use fresh lime juice. Bottled lime juice makes a noticeable difference in such a simple cocktail.
Use white rum for the classic Cuban style flavor.
Use plenty of ice; mojitos are meant to be very cold and gradual dilution is part of the drink.