Cuban Mojito
Havana's highball: mint pressed gently with lime and sugar, white rum, a mound of crushed ice and a splash of soda, built and churned right in the glass.
Wikipedia names Havana as the mojito's birthplace but says the origin is debated. One story credits Sir Francis Drake's sailors and a drink called "El Draque", made with aguardiente (a rough cane spirit), lime, sugarcane juice and mint; Wikipedia says it was not called a mojito then. The name may come from mojo, the Cuban lime seasoning, or from "mojadito", "a little wet". The bar most linked to it is La Bodeguita del Medio in Havana, where a line handwritten on the wall and signed with Hemingway's name pairs "my mojito" at the Bodeguita with "my daiquiri" at El Floridita; Wikipedia notes Hemingway's biographers doubt both that he was a regular there and that he liked mojitos. A 2016 survey Wikipedia cites found it the most popular cocktail in Britain and France.
Why it works the kitchen science
Bruise, do not tear
Pressing the leaves gently releases the mint oil; grinding them releases bitter chlorophyll and leaves bits in your teeth.
Crushed ice and a churn
Crushed ice chills fast and dilutes the rum just enough, and churning spreads the mint evenly from top to bottom.
Step by step
- Step 1
Method: Built. Put the sugar and lime juice in a tall Collins glass and stir 15 seconds to dissolve the sugar.
- Step 2
Add the mint leaves and press them gently with a muddler 4 or 5 times, just to bruise them; do not shred them.
- Step 3
Add the rum, then fill the glass two-thirds with crushed ice.
- Step 4
Churn for 10 seconds: push a bar spoon to the bottom and lift and twist, pulling the mint up through the ice.
- Step 5
Pack more crushed ice on top to fill the glass, then pour in the club soda.
- Step 6
Slap the mint sprig once between your palms over the glass to wake it up, tuck it in beside a straw and add the lime wheel.
Cuban Mojito
Serves 1 · 1 drink · 4 min total
Drink
- About 12 fresh mint leaves (spearmint), plus 1 large sprig for garnish
- 2 tsp superfine sugar
- 3/4 oz (22 ml) fresh lime juice
- 2 oz (60 ml) white rum
- 2 oz (60 ml) cold club soda
- About 1 1/2 cups crushed ice
Garnish
- The mint sprig
- 1 lime wheel (optional)
Method
- Method: Built. Put the sugar and lime juice in a tall Collins glass and stir 15 seconds to dissolve the sugar.
- Add the mint leaves and press them gently with a muddler 4 or 5 times, just to bruise them; do not shred them.
- Add the rum, then fill the glass two-thirds with crushed ice.
- Churn for 10 seconds: push a bar spoon to the bottom and lift and twist, pulling the mint up through the ice.
- Pack more crushed ice on top to fill the glass, then pour in the club soda.
- Slap the mint sprig once between your palms over the glass to wake it up, tuck it in beside a straw and add the lime wheel.
Adapted from Difford's Guide, "Mojito": mint, 2 oz light rum, 1/2 oz lime, 1/3 oz rich sugar syrup, churned with crushed ice in a Collins glass and topped with soda, with the IBA amounts in Wikipedia's infobox (45 ml white rum, 20 ml lime, 6 mint sprigs, 2 tsp white cane sugar, soda). We use 3/4 oz lime and 2 tsp sugar (about the same sugar as Difford's syrup) and 2 oz soda. diffordsguide.com. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (2)
Tips
- Use the freshest mint you can find; limp leaves give little aroma.
- No crushed ice? Wrap cubes in a clean towel and hit them with a rolling pin.
- For a pitcher of six, muddle mint, sugar and lime in the pitcher, add rum, then pour over ice-filled glasses and top each with soda.
- Our math: about 1.3 US standard drinks, assuming 80-proof rum.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Hemingway drank mojitos at La Bodeguita del Medio. Disputed: the wall inscription says so, but Hemingway biographers doubt it (Wikipedia, citing Greene 2012).
- Francis Drake's men invented it. Folklore: "El Draque" is a popular story, and Wikipedia notes it was not called a mojito.
- The name comes from mojo. Disputed: mojo (a lime seasoning) and mojadito ("a little wet") are both proposed (Wikipedia).
- Muddle the mint hard. Disputed in practice: Difford's churns the mint with the ice instead; we press gently.
Every other cocktail
Classic Margarita
Blanco tequila, orange liqueur and fresh lime, shaken hard and poured over fresh ice in a half salt-rimmed glass: the sour that Mexico, Texas and California all claim.
Frozen Margarita (Dallas, 1971)
The margarita as Texas made it famous: tequila, orange liqueur, lime and a little syrup blended with crushed ice into a smooth, spoonable slush, the drink a Dallas restaurateur put in a machine in 1971.
Cuban Daiquiri
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Virgin Mojito (Nojito)
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