Mojito
Ingredients
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- 8 leaves mint
- 2 tsp granulated sugar
- 3/4 oz lime juice – freshly squeezed (~0.5 medium limes)
- 2 oz white rum
- 1 cup ice – crushed
- 2 oz club soda – chilled
- mint – sprig (for serving)
- lime – cut into a wheel (for serving)
Instructions
1. Place 8 mint leaves and the granulated sugar in a chilled 12-ounce highball glass. Add the freshly squeezed lime juice and gently muddle 10–15 seconds until the leaves are bruised and fragrant, not shredded.
2. Pour in the white rum and stir 10–15 seconds until the sugar is mostly dissolved.
3. Fill the glass with crushed ice (about 1 cup). Top with the chilled club soda (2 oz) and briefly stir 5 seconds to lift the mint through the drink.
4. Lightly clap the mint sprig between your palms to release aroma, then garnish the drink with the mint sprig and a lime wheel. Serve immediately; the drink should be cold, aromatic, and lightly effervescent.
Mojito is a tall, refreshing rum highball with a bright balance of lime, sugar, and mint lifted by bubbles. The flavor is crisp and citrusy, softened by gentle sweetness and the herbal cooling of fresh mint. Effervescence and crushed ice make it especially thirst-quenching in hot weather, while light-bodied white rum keeps the profile clean and snappy.
Originating in Cuba, the mojito likely evolved from an older mixture known as El Draque, a blend of aguardiente, lime, sugar, and mint associated with the 16th-century navigator Francis Drake. By the early 20th century in Havana, as rum production refined and tourism grew, the drink settled into its modern form with white rum and soda water. Iconic Cuban bars helped popularize it worldwide, and the use of yerba buena (a local mint variety) remains a hallmark in its homeland.