Mojito
White rum, lime, mint and soda over crushed ice. Cool, green and quick to build.
- Time
- 5 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Glass
- Highball
- Strength
- 1.9 UK units
How to make a Mojito
- Press the mint. Put the mint, sugar and lime juice in a tall glass. Press the mint gently 5 or 6 times with the back of a bar spoon, until you can smell it. Do not shred it.
- Add the rum. Pour in the rum and stir for 10 seconds until the sugar has dissolved.
- Add ice. Fill the glass about two thirds with crushed ice and stir from the bottom up to chill everything.
- Top with soda. Top with a splash of soda and add more crushed ice to make a mound.
- Garnish. Slap a mint sprig between your hands to wake it up, then tuck it in the ice.
- Glass
- HighballNo highball? Any tall tumbler.
- Ice
- Crushed ice
- Garnish
- Mint sprigOr: A lime wheel.
What you need to make a Mojito
Kit
JiggerA double-ended measure, usually 25 ml and 50 ml.
Bar spoonA long teaspoon does the job.
Citrus squeezerFresh juice makes the biggest difference of anything.
Bottles we'd use
- White rumA light, clean Cuban-style rum like Havana Club 3 Años or Bacardi Carta Blanca.Find it on Amazon
Links to Amazon are affiliate links: if you buy through them, Bar Bandol may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
The Mojito story
The Mojito is a Cuban drink, and its exact origin is not settled. One often-told story links it to El Draque, a 16th-century mix of aguardiente, mint, lime and sugar, said to be named for Sir Francis Drake. The name may come from mojo, a Cuban lime sauce, but that has not been proved. By the twentieth century it was a Havana bar staple.
The trick is to be gentle with the mint. Press it, do not pulverise it, or the drink turns bitter and full of green flecks. Good limes, plenty of ice and a cold glass do the rest.
Mojito: your questions answered
What is in a Mojito?
A Mojito is made with 50 ml white rum, 25 ml fresh lime juice, caster sugar, 10 fresh mint leaves and soda water to top. Garnish: mint sprig.
How strong is a Mojito?
Made to this recipe, a Mojito contains about 1.9 UK units of alcohol per drink. That is worked out from typical bottle strengths, so it changes with the bottles you use. UK guidelines advise not regularly drinking more than 14 units a week.
What glass do you serve a Mojito in?
Serve a Mojito in a highball over ice. No highball? Any tall tumbler.
