Mojitos - The Perfect Rum Drink

A mojito is a traditional Cuban cocktail which became popular in the United States during the late 1980s, and has recently seen a resurgence in popularity.

A mojito is traditionally made of five ingredients: rum, sugar (traditionally sugar cane juice), lime, carbonated water and mint. Its combination of sweetness and refreshing citrus and mint flavors are intended to mask the potent kick of the rum, and have made this clear cocktail a popular summer drink. Many hotels in Havana also add Angostura bitters to cut the sweetness of the mojito; while a popular variation, it is not the original version created in La Bodeguita del Medio.

(...from Wikipedia)

1 teaspoon powdered sugar
Juice from 1 lime (2 ounces)
4 mint leaves
1 sprig of mint
Havana Club white Rum (2 ounces)
2 ounces club soda

Place the mint leaves into a long mojito glass (often called a "collins" glass) and squeeze the juice from a cut lime over it. You'll want about two ounces of lime juice, so it may not require all of the juice from a single lime. Add the powdered sugar, then gently smash the mint into the lime juice and sugar with a muddler (a long wooden device pictured below, though you can also use the back of a fork or spoon if one isn't available). Add ice (preferably crushed) then add the rum and stir, and top off with the club soda (you can also stir the club soda in as per your taste). Garnish with a mint sprig.

(...from Taste Of Cuba)

There are some things that you must have to make a mojito: rum, lime and mint flavor, sweetness, and ice. But, once you have made a mojito, you can try to get creative.

As for the rums - light rums work best for a standard mojito, they have a clear crisp flavor that is complemented by the lime and mint. There are also a number of flavored rums that are quite good in mojito's. You might really enjoy them in a flavored mojito as shown below in To Make Other Flavors:.

For the standard mojito, you can find a number of very good premade mojito mixes. I honestly would hesitate to tell you to order these over the internet simply because these bottles are heavy and your shipping costs would be high. Check out your local beverage store or supermarket. (Roses's makes a very tasty one.) These pre-made mixes are meant as a substitute for the lime and mint muddling and the simple syrup (or straight sugar). In my opinion, you cannot have a mojito without at the very least some lime wedges. Drop a wedge or two into your glass and muddle it before you add the mojito mix according to directions - you won't be sorry.

There is also some debate on whether simple syrup or sugar is better: I like them both equally well. The advantage to the sugar is when you pour it onto the lime and mint before muddling, it's natural abrasiveness adds something to the flavors. The advantage to the simple syrup is that you can make a quantity of it to have on hand and it is easy to store and measure to serve. (You can also infuse your simple syrup with a complimentary flavor or with mint if you so inclined.)

And, as for the mint: you won't believe the difference it makes to have fresh mint in your glass for this drink. In the summer months, I have two pots of it that I grow for use (mint is a very invasive plant, and if you put it into a bed, be very aware that it will spread and take over); in the winter, when I need to be reminded what summer is, I get some fresh in the herb section of the supermarket. Should you use spearmint or peppermint? I have found that both are equally good in mojitos.

An easy mojito cocktail recipe to liven up your evening:

1.5 oz BACARDI Rum
12 fresh spearmint leaves
1/2 lime
7 oz club soda
2 tbsp. simple syrup (or 4 tsp. sugar)

For the smoothest mojitos, gently crush mint leaves and lightly squeeze lime in a cool tall glass. Pour sweet syrup on top to cover and fill glass with ice. Add Bacardi Rum, club soda, and stir well. Garnish with a lime wedge and a few sprigs of mint.

(...from BacardiMojito.com)

Ingredients:
15 to 20 Mint Leaves
3/4 oz. Fresh Lime Juice
3/4 oz. Simple Syrup
3 oz. Matusalem Platino Rum
1/2 oz. Mango Purée
2 1/2 oz. Club Soda

Preparation:
In a mixing glass, muddle mint leaves, lime juice and sugar vigorously. Add ice, rum, mango purée, syrup and soda, stir thoroughly and pour into a tall glass. Garnish with a mint leaf.

As you can see from the pictures below, there are other tasty flavor variations possible for a mojito also. To achieve these, swap out your desired fruit (purée form or flavoring) for the mango in the above recipe. You can also add a chunk or two of the whole fruit to the lime and mint when you muddle them. This is what was done with the strawberry and the pineapple mojito's, which is why they are cloudier and have a different color.

Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 - July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. He was part of the 1920s expatriate community in Paris, as well as the veterans of World War One later known as "the Lost Generation", as described in his posthumous memoir A Moveable Feast. ("'That's what you are. That's what you all are,' Miss Stein said. 'All of you young people who served in the war. You are a lost generation.'" Stein had overheard a garage owner use the phrase to criticize a mechanic.) He received the Pulitzer Prize in 1953 for The Old Man and the Sea, and the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954.

(...from Wikipedia)