The Real Mojito Recipe

Ay Caramba! Ten reviews for this recipe so far, and not one of you has even tried it! You're willing to dish out two and three star ratings based on your own private rant. How on earth is that helpful to someone who wants to know how the recipe turned out? If it's OK for you all to trash the recipe in trade for the thrill of seeing your words published online, then it's OK for me to give it five stars just because I think it looks delicious. So here it goes.....

I don't know what this nonsense is about over-muddling mint. Mint doesn't taste bitter at all when you muddle it, in my experience, and in fact to release the oils it is essential to crush it (we have a prolific lime tree, and mint everywhere, and people always love my mojitos). It's easy as pie to make a great mojito. I use half a lime and probably 10-12 mint leaves (though I honestly never count.. just put in enough). Cut the lime into wedges that are easier to crush. Throw it all in the bottom of a collins glass. Sprinkle a little (this isn't for sweetness) turbinado sugar over this for an abrasive. I muddle the lime, too, as I find it a lot easier and no, it doesn't add any off-taste. Muddle until you get every last bit of lime juice and the mint is well crushed. Add ice. How much ice you put in depends on how heavy you want the drink, really. I know the recipe in my 12oz glasses and I fill them to about an inch and a half from the top. This is where people will get finicky: I make a turbinado simple syrup at 1:1. It's just easier to sweeten with in a cold drink than sugar. I use about 3/4 shot per drink; it really depends on the limes and how sweet you like things. Put the simple syrup in first, then pour the rum. I don't measure the rum, just fill the glass til about an inch from the top (this turns out to be about 2.5-3oz in my glass I think). Finish with club soda, stir from the bottom to the top, garnish with mint. It's delicious and easy.

Mojitos should always use sugar, not simple syrup. And I usually use more mint than the recipe calls for, nbut it depends on the freshness of the mint. What are peoples' thoughts on muddling lime wedges with sugar rather than squeezing the juice first? Does the oil from the zest add to the drink in a positive way, or is that inauthentic?

Because of a half-century embargo against Cuba, the Mojito is one of the most misunderstood drinks around. I'm not sure how this drink even managed to achieve the fad status it has enjoyed in the US for the past several years. I have to start by correcting Johnhoff: The Mojito is not "...a drink for peasants." The Mojito comes from La Habana, on of the world's great cities by any definition. Okay, let's discuss some of the ingredients for this drink. Most important is the rum. In La Habana Mojito's are made with Havana Club white rum. To me, that is the real taste of a Mojito. You will never make a great Mojito using a nasty tasting rum like Bacardi. If I can't get the Havana Club, Don Q Cristal is about the next best thing. Next, let's talk about sugar. Sugar is king in Cuba. For much of its history sugar was Cuba's entire reason for existing. Sugar in Cuba is not over-processed to death as it is in the US. Our over-processed sugar has a nasty chemical taste to it. Cuban sugar tastes sweeter, and actually has a fruity flavor to it, rather than just a neutral sweetness. And so again, to me, the taste of a great Mojito is inseparable from the taste of Cuba's superior sugar. I recommend using turbinado sugar, which, like the cuban sugar is much less processed, much better tasting, and a bit coarser crystals. Yes, the turbinado sugar is light brown in color and might tint the otherwise clear drink. But the cuban sugar has a bit of color to it as well. In the end, it should be all about taste, rather than photogenic drinks worthy of food porn. The sugar brings us to the next issue: mint. In La Habana the mint is muddled with the lime juice and the sugar. The coarse sugar granules are essential for releasing the mint's oils. For this reason I absolutely reject any Mojito recipe that uses simple syrup instead of real sugar. Hubby Santa is indeed correct that mint in Cuba is different than in the US (as are so many other things). If I remember correctly, the mint they use for Mojitos is called yerba buena. Finally: a Mojito contains rum, sugar, lime juice, mint leaf, club soda and nothing else. A drink made using different liquor, additional liqueurs, flavorings, garnishes, etc is not a Mojito. As surely as there is only one way to make a true Martini, there is only one way to make a true Mojito. Beware of menus offering nineteen different "types" of Martinis, or "the largest assortment of Mojitos." Chow is just as guilty as any other hipster. Look to the right on this page and find the "Satsuma Mojito." While this looks like it might be a wonderful drink, it is definitely not a Mojito. End the madness!!!