Adding Some Mojo to Your Mojito

The Mojito is one of those older cocktails that has become very popular of late, turning up on drinks menus everywhere. It's a long drink, a combination of rum, lime juice, sugar, and mint. It does require a little extra effort, as you'll see, but it's well worth it.

It originated in Cuba, where, before refrigeration, the addition of mint lent a cooling sensation to the mixture of rum, lime juice, and sugar, basically the recipe for British Navy Grog (hence the term "limeys" for British sailors). The same effect is credited for the presence of mint in the American Mint Julep, and some authorities (American?) believe the Mojito was inspired by the Julep. The availability of ice and soda water gave the drink its present form, and while Hemingway preferred the Daiquiris at La Floridita, he drank his Mojitos at La Bodeguita.

You'll need to make some simple syrup to start. Since sugar is difficult to dissolve in cocktails, bartenders use simple syrup. It's easy to make: heat equal parts water and white sugar (say 1 cup of each) until the sugar is completely dissolved. Let cool, and store in a clean glass bottle in the fridge. It'll keep a week or two.

In your cocktail shaker, combine 2 ounces of white rum (Bacardi is a good choice, but a real Cuban rum, like Havana Club, will make your Mojito taste closer to the original), 1 ounce of freshly-squeezed lime juice, and 1 ounce of simple syrup. Then add a sprig of mint, one with, say, 4 or 5 leaves.

About the mint. Many people have it growing in their gardens, and if it's a variety you like the taste of, it'll work fine. But if you're trying to replicate an authentic Hemingway hangover, there is a Cuban variety specifically for Mojitos. It's available at Richter's Herbs in Goodwood and is called, ahem, Mojito Mint. Or you can ask me for some. Like all mint, it grows profusely and spreads rapidly.

Muddle these ingredients in the bottom of the shaker. To muddle means to mash fruit or herbs to extract their juice and/or flavour. You can buy a muddler in kitchen stores; it looks like a pestle in a mortar and pestle, same idea. Or simply use the back of a wooden spoon.

Now add some ice, about half a cup. Shake until chilled and pour over ice in a Collins glass. Top with a few ounces of club soda and garnish with a second sprig of mint. Sip through a straw and imagine old Havana.

That's the basic Mojito, but of course there are variations if you want to add some mojo to your Mojito. If you have some fresh or frozen raspberries, muddle a few of them in there too for a Raspberry Mojito. Or use one of the many varieties of flavoured rums.

One variation, and it was actually my introduction to the Mojito in Key West a few years ago, is the Vanilla Mojito. It's made with Cruzan Vanilla Rum, of course, but also without the addition of the splash of soda at the end. Use about a cup of ice in your shaker and after shaking until very well chilled, strain into a martini glass. More like a Mint Daiquiri really, I've seen this variation in a few places. You could, of course, make this style of Mojito with any variety of rum, but if using a sweetened flavoured rum, reduce or omit the simple syrup.

¡Viva Cuba!