Oh, Mojito!


I was reading my blogs earlier today and I came across a recipe that said it was a Cherry Mojito. The Mojito is one of my very favorite cocktails, so I thought I'd check it out. The recipe sounded tasty, but was entirely NOT a Mojito, and so I got a little upset for somebody ruining my favorite drink. Why did they ruin it? Well, this drink was made out of vodka and had no mint! ARGH!

A mojito has five basic ingredients: rum, mint, lime, sugar and club soda, and there are a bunch of slight variations. I'm generally a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to things like this, so since the mojito is a Cuban drink, I like to use Cuban rum. Because I live in the United States and we've got an embargo on pretty much all-things-Cuban, I use the Cuban exile rum, Bacardi. (Yes, I know it says Puerto Rican Rum all over the bottle, but the Bacardi brand of rum is originally from Cuba.) I also use white rum. The mint and lime will be fresh and depending on what's available and what my mood is, I usually use simple syrup or regular sugar.

To make a mojito, you must have a muddler. A muddler is pretty much a stick that helps to mash up your mint and lime. When you make a mojito, you start with a Collins glass. (I eyeball pretty much everything except the rum.) Put a few mint leaves in your glass and cut your lime in wedges and put about half of it in the glass. Take your muddler and gently smash it around a bit in order to release the essential oils in the mint and marry it with the lime. (I sometimes put the sugar in before muddling, if I'm using regular sugar. Simple syrup doesn't work as well if you put it in before muddling.) It doesn't make much difference. After you muddle, add ice to the glass and then 1.5-2 ounces of rum. If you haven't put in the sugar yet, do that also. Top the glass off with the club soda and stir. Yum.

Some people don't like the hassle of muddling the fresh mint and lime, so they opt for the mojito mix. I'm sure some of them are tasty, but like I said before, I'm a traditionalist, so I prefer the fresh mojito. I think it tastes so much better! If I ever have a bar, the mojito will definitely be on the drink menu and it will always be made fresh!

That's it for me...Happy muddling!

Note: The picture in this post is my mojito from the bar at Hotel El Convento in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. If you ever get the chance, I recommend staying at least one night at Hotel El Convento. It is a fabulous hotel in the heart of Old San Juan that was originally a convent (hence the name) in the 15th century, and is one of the very best and most unique hotels in Puerto Rico.