White rum · 19th century, Havana

Mojito

White rum, mint, lime, sugar and soda: the Mojito is summer in a glass and the drink of every beach club.

Sweet5

Sour6

Bitter0

Strong4

Fresh10

Ingredients

5 cl white rum
2.5 cl lime juice
2 bar spoons of cane sugar or 2 cl sugar syrup
8 to 10 mint leaves
soda water
crushed ice

Glass: Highball glass
Garnish: Mint sprig, lime

Method

Press the mint gently with the sugar and lime juice in the glass, do not tear it.
Add the rum and fill the glass with crushed ice.
Stir, top up with soda.
Garnish with a mint sprig you have clapped between your hands first.

The Mojito comes from Havana and was originally a medicinal drink of cane spirit, lime and mint. Hemingway made it famous at the Bodeguita del Medio, even though he supposedly preferred Daiquiris there. Since the nineties it has been the most ordered cocktail in Europe.

The Mojito is a craft drink that is often made badly: pounded mint, too much sugar, warm soda. Done right it is light, fresh and cool, and in the beach clubs of the Costa del Sol it comes by the jug.