I can’t think of a drink that is often made more poorly than The Mojito except for perhaps The Old Fashioned. Common mistakes include muddling the mint, using the wrong ice size, adding too much lime or sugar and making the drink with poor rum, amongst many others. The reason why this is so inexcusable  is because it really is an easy drink to make if one just learns how. There is a pretty popular, high end bar/restaurant near my house that offers about twenty different types of Mojitos with flavors ranging from coconut to cherry, to lemon and strawberry. They would be a lot better of simply making the original Mojito the right way. Let’s talk about the ingredients you’ll need and then we’ll discuss technique.

You’ll need limes and you’ll want to look for limes without discoloration or blemishes. You’ll need good, fresh mint and if you have a farmer’s market nearby I recommend you pick your mint up there instead of a big grocery store. I always get my mint from the farmer’s market at Union Square and it’s fun to play around with the different types of mint the farmer’s offer (peppermint, wintergreen mint cinnamon mint, chocolate mint etc) but for this drink I would just stick with basic mint. You’ll want crushed ice to sort of keep the first layer of mint down in the drink. The best way to make crushed ice is either to muddle it hard in a shaker tin or put it in bag and smack it around with either a hammer or mallet. You’ll need superfine sugar that will dissolve easily and of course rum. You’ll want to use a light rum but please, please stay away from Bacardi. There are so many other, better light rums with much more flavor and body. See if you can find light rums from brands like Appleton, Cruzan, Flor De Cana, El Dorado etc. Many of these rums are either the same price or cheaper than Bacardi and a lot better. I really don’t like 10 Cane rum which is a rum for Trinidad distilled from sugar cane juice instead of molasses like most rums which technically makes it a rhum agricole. This is the only drink in which I like to use 10 Cane because I find that it has a little extra funkiness that works nicely with light, delicate flavors. Finally, you’ll need soda water, if you have your own siphon that works best if not just use good old club soda or soda water.

Here’s the proportions you’ll need to correctly make the drink

The Mojito

1 ounce of fresh lime juice,

2 teaspoons of super fine sugar

12 or so mint leaves and a sprig for garnish

crushed ice

2 ounces of good white or light rum

soda water

You’ll want to use a tall glass for this drink. Add your lime juice and sugar to the glass and stir until all of the sugar has dissolved. You’ll then want to fill the cup about 1/3 of the way with crushed ice. Gather about 12 whole mint leaves and rub them around the rim of the glass to express some of the oils. Then slap them to release all of the oils, lightly tear them in half and drop them in your glass. Mint should never be muddled, at worst it should be pressed lightly but usually slapped. Lightly pressing or slapping the herb releases the flavorful mint oils while muddling them releases the bitter chlorophyll. If you ever had a bitter Mojito it’s probably because you or your bartender were incorrectly taught to muddle the mint, which is not the right way to work with the delicate leaves. After you’ve added your mint, add your rum and fill the glass all the way with crushed ice. If you’ve done this right there isn’t going to be a lot of room left in the glass, and that’s a good thing. A Mojito is not supposed to filled with soda water, you only want to use a little for a bit of effervescence. Add your soda water and give the drink a light stir so not to crush the carbonation. Add your prettiest mint sprig as a garnish and stick two straws in right next to the mint so that every time you take a sip you’ll get a whiff of that aromatic mint oil. Finally, resist the urge to stab at the mint. Enjoy your drink and say goodbye to Summer.

Filed under: Booze Tagged: | 10 Cane, Appleton Rum, Bacardi Rum, carbonation, Cruzan Rum, El Dorado Rum, Flor De Cana Rum, fresh mint, ice size, limes, muddling mint, rhum agricole, Rum, siphon, slapping mint, sugar, The Mojito, Trinidad, Union Square Farmer's Market