Mojito

Ingredients

Drink

• 50 mlwhite Cuban rum
• 25 mlfresh lime juice
• 2 tspcaster sugar, or 20 ml sugar syrup
• 10mint leaves, plus a sprig
• soda water, to top

Also

• crushed ice
• half a lime, cut in wedges

Garnish

• a large mint sprig
• a lime wheel

Directions

1. Use fresh spearmint, and pick the leaves rather than using whole stems.
2. Stems and stalks release chlorophyll and bitterness, and only the leaves should go into the glass.
3. Put the mint leaves and the sugar in the bottom of a tall glass and press them gently with a muddler.
4. Press, do not grind. The aim is to bruise the leaves so they release their oils, and shredding them tears out bitter compounds that ruin the drink.
5. Six or eight gentle presses is enough, and the leaves should still be recognisable as leaves.
6. The sugar crystals help: they act as a mild abrasive against the leaf as you press.
7. Add the lime juice and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
8. Make sure the sugar dissolves before the ice goes in, because it will not dissolve afterwards and you will find it at the bottom.
9. Pour in the rum and stir it through the sweetened lime and mint.
10. Fill the glass with crushed ice, right to the top.
11. Crushed ice rather than cubes. It chills faster and it is what a mojito is meant to be drunk through.
12. Top with soda water and stir once from the bottom upward with a long spoon.
13. Stir once and gently, lifting the mint up through the drink, then stop. Over-stirring flattens the soda.
14. Taste it and adjust: it should be tart first, then sweet, with the mint aromatic rather than grassy.
15. Slap a large mint sprig between your palms and stand it in the top of the glass.
16. Slapping the sprig releases its aroma without bruising it, and the point is that you smell mint as you drink.
17. Add a lime wheel and a straw and serve immediately.
18. Make it one at a time. A jug of mojito goes flat and the mint turns black within twenty minutes.
19. It is a Havana highball, and its ancestor El Draque, made with aguardiente and mint, is tied to sixteenth-century sailors on the island.
20. Cuban bars use hierbabuena, a local spearmint, rather than the peppermint sold in most supermarkets.

Technique

• Hierbabuena is milder and sweeter than peppermint, which can be medicinal in a drink.
• Some Havana bars add a dash of Angostura, and many do not.
• The sugar and lime should balance, and the exact amounts depend on how sharp your limes are.

Substitutions

• Sugar syrup in place of caster sugar, which dissolves reliably.
• Any light dry rum, though Cuban-style is closest.

Variations

• With fresh raspberries or passion fruit muddled in.
• Made with aged rum, which is richer and darker.
• Non-alcoholic, as a Nojito with more lime and soda.

History

Havana highball of rum, lime, mint and soda; its ancestor El Draque, of aguardiente and mint, is tied to 16th-century sailors on the island.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mojito?

Mojito is a cocktail from Cuba: white rum with lime, mint, sugar, and soda. Havana highball of rum, lime, mint and soda; its ancestor El Draque, of aguardiente and mint, is tied to 16th-century sailors on the island.

How long does Mojito take to make?

Mojito takes 5 min of preparation and no cooking at all. The recipe makes 1 drink. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Mojito?

Yes, within limits. Sugar syrup in place of caster sugar, which dissolves reliably. Any light dry rum, though Cuban-style is closest.

What is the most important thing to get right in Mojito?

Use fresh spearmint, and pick the leaves rather than using whole stems.