Mojito
Mojito (/moʊˈhiːtoʊ/; Spanish: [moˈxito]) is a traditional Cuban punch. The cocktail often consists of five ingredients: white rum, sugar (traditionally sugar cane juice), lime juice, soda water, and mint. Its combination of sweetness, citrus, and herbaceous mint flavors is intended to complement the rum, and has made the mojito a popular summer drink.
| IBA official cocktail | |
|---|---|
| Type | Cocktail |
| Base spirit | |
| Served | On the rocks: poured over ice |
| Standard garnish | sprigs of mint or slice of lime |
| Standard drinkware | Collins glass |
| IBA specified ingredients† |
|
| Preparation | Mix mint sprigs with sugar and lime juice. Add splash of soda water and fill the glass with ice. Pour the rum and top with soda water. Light stir to involve all ingredients. |
| † Mojito recipe at International Bartenders Association | |
When preparing a mojito, fresh lime juice is added to sugar (or to simple syrup) and mint leaves. The mixture is then gently mashed with a muddler. The mint leaves should only be bruised to release the essential oils and should not be shredded. Then rum is added and the mixture is briefly stirred to dissolve the sugar and to lift the mint leaves up from the bottom for better presentation. Finally, the drink is topped with crushed ice and sparkling soda water. Mint sprigs or lime wedges are used to garnish the glass.
In Cuba, the mint used to make mojito is most commonly Mentha × villosa (called yerba buena or hierbabuena in Cuba) which has a light minty/citrus aroma, but outside of Cuba spearmint, which has a stronger mint aroma, is often used.