Mojito
A traditional mojito is made of five ingredients: rum, mint, sugar, lime juice, and club soda. Muddling is a gentle but thorough bruising of fruit and the herb with sugar at the bottom of a glass. This process helps to release juice and the essential oils. The combination of the refreshing citrus, the sweetness, and the strong mint flavor is used to mask the potency of the rum. To many, it may seem like an intricate cocktail to create but really, it’s quite simple and worth all that extra effort as it produces a great reward.
How to Muddle A Mojito
You can use a muddler, a pestle or even the end of a rolling pin for this procedure. Push down the muddler with a twisting action, press firmly but slowly and in a controlled fashion. Add all the pressure you want, but don’t break down the ingredients into mush or bits. Crushing, smashing, piercing, or pounding is not needed; think bruise and press. Not enough muddling will leave you with a drink that seems like a waste of time and too much may release bitterness found in some of the fruit and herbs. Again, you want to release essential oils, fruit juice, and the delicious flavors but not make mashed ingredients.The muddler should not be made of aluminum or any other reactive material for that matter (or be a nosy person that tries to take credit for everything-JK). Plastic is also not a good choice as some fruit bleed color and will stain your tool. Wood is a good choice and it should have a flat end rather than a round tip because you get more surface area in contact with the fruit and the mint. If you don’t do enough regular muddling to necessitate a muddler or cannot find other tools mentioned above in your kitchen, I recommend using a spoon against the side of the glass, almost like mushing the mint leaf.
Mojito Ingredients
2 large sprig spearmint
Couple wedges of juicy lime
2 tea spoon of sugar
2 oz white rum
Ice – crushed is best, small cubed is okay too
Club soda
The Procedure
- Place a sprig worth of mint leaves, sugar, and a wedge of lime in a tall glass. Tall highball glass preferred.
- Muddle with love (and Cubanness) .
- Add crushed ice, Matusalem rum, and stir well to dissolve sugar to your liking.
- Top off with club soda and stir lightly to incorporate.
- Garnish with fresh sprig of mint and an wheel of lime.
- Slowly sip your labor of love, enjoy the way the flavors meld over time. Do not chug down in less time than it took you to make it.
Mojito Making Tips:
- Many mojito recipes call for simple syrup, but I find sugar to be better for muddling. The pointy crystals of sugar act as an abrasive medium which increase the efficiency of the muddle.
- Use crushed ice when making this beverage. The extra surface area of crushed ice will make your drink cool quicker. Plus crushed ice melts faster, which is a good thing for a drink with strong flavors.
- Mojito should be made with dry rum. Do not use spiced rum. Just like most cocktails, quality of booze does matter (as much as the motion of the ocean). ANNA recommends Matusalem Rum!
- Do not use pre-made mojito mix out of a bottle. This is a cocktail that you cannot substitute ingredients for convenience. From the start 100% hand-made, 100% more enjoyable.
- If you don’t want tiny pieces of mint floating in your drink, you can strain the contents into ice-filled glass, and garnish with fresh mint and lime to serve. I like mine dirty like my… well never mind.
- And last but not least, I encourage you to grow your own mint so you can make this any time :) Mint is easy to grow, and fool proof at that. All you need to do is to save the thick stems, remove the leaves, and bury them in a pot of dirt(rinse before making a mojito). It should form roots in about a week or so. Give it lots of sunshine and water before you know, you will have fresh mint at your finger tips. If you live by a nursery, you can pick up a mini and get a jump start. Just be careful, mint is an invasive plant and it will take over the entire garden if you are not careful. If you want to plant it in your yard, bury the pot so that the root does not spread wild. Spearmint and apple mint are my two favorite choices for mojito.
Do use crushed ice in your mojitos. Crushed ice will melt faster, which is a good thing in a drink with such strong flavors. The extra surface area of crushed ice also means a colder drink.
Do not use a pre-made mojito mix out of a bottle. This is one drink you want to do right.
Do use this recipe to make yourself a mojito at home.
Do not over-muddle the mint, or muddle the lime with the ice cubes. These are strictly amateur moves.
Do try Matusalem, Bacardi or Havana club rum in your mojitos. For many of us, it is the closest thing we can get to real Cuban rum.
Do not use dark or gold rum in your mojitos. They can muddy the flavor tremendously.
Do not order a mojito when there is a line at the bar. Your bartender is probably not going to put a lot of love
into it. In fact, you might get just the opposite.
Do order a mojito when the bar is slow. Your bartender will appreciate having an intricate cocktail to make. And if he/she doesn’t? Fuck ‘em.
Do not have ten mojitos tonight. At around 150 calories each, that’s like 1500 calories, there, fatty.
Do order a mojito from a reputable bartender at a reputable bar.
Do not order a mojito at a dance club, sports bar, drink stand, airport bar, OTB saloon, chain restaurant or fraternity house. You’re just going to end up being disappointed.
Do order a mojito on a warm summer evening.
Do not order a mojito when the weather is below 70°F. This is almost as bad as ordering a Bloody Mary after the sun has gone down.
Do slowly sip a mojito and enjoy the way the flavors meld over time.
Do not slurp down a mojito in less time than it took your bartender to make it. You’re probably already on
the back burner for ordering it in the first place, and it’s going to be a while before you’re allowed another.
