In order to understand the mojito a little better, you have to take a trip south to the birthplace of this modern classic: Havana, Cuba. In reality, your trip has to be more of an imagined or virtual trip, since most people won’t ever get an opportunity to visit this unique place in the current political climate. Nevertheless, you can still feel like you’re in the vibrant city of Havana when you sip this refreshing and tasty cocktail.

The good news is that it’s pretty easy to make an amazing mojito, no matter which part of the world you reside in. When Cuba starts to become more open for travel, maybe one day you could take an adventure finding out about the birthplace of this popular beverage.

History

The story goes that the drink was originally known as “El Drake,” as it was named after Sir Francis Drake during his seafaring voyages around the Caribbean. During one of his journeys, his crew was suffering from a terrible bout of dysentery and scurvy, one of the many side effects of being at sea for several months.

A few of his healthier crewmembers went ashore to Havana, searching for some remedies for the sick left behind. The sailors came back with local holistic medications that some of the natives swore by — a primitive rum called aguardiente de caña, lime juice and sugar. Mixed together, the sweet tasting brew allowed some of the sailors to begin to recover.

Name Origins

While this drink based on Drake’s search for relief was similar to the modern mojito, it still wasn’t called by that name for many years. Some people believe that the name came from the spicy mojo seasoning that has always been popular in Cuba. Others believe that the name is derived from the Spanish word for wet, mojado. It’s even possible the origin of the name was from the mojo marinades that used lemon and lime juices brought over from the Creole culture.

Hemingway’s Drink

Of course, most people associate this popular drink with its most famous supposed supporter, Ernest Hemingway. While there are many stories out there that detail Hemingway’s love affair with this drink, there is little proof written down that he actually named the mojito his favorite. Despite this fact, there are several local establishments in Havana that have capitalized on the fame of the reclusive writer. With advertisements promising the presence of Hemingway sipping mojitos at the bar long ago, these small shops have found a way to attract book lovers and beyond to try their mixtures.

The Mojito
1 ½ ounces of White Rum
1 ounce fresh lime juice
1 sprig of fresh mint
2 teaspoons of sugar or 1 ½ ounces of simple syrup
Soda Water to top off

To make your mojito, start with a collins or highball glass. Put your sprig of mint in the bottom of the glass and carefully muddle it while adding the sugar or simple syrup. Once you get the desired consistency, slowly add the lime juice and continue to muddle everything together. Add a splash of soda water to your mixture and then fill your glass with crushed ice.

Finally, add the white rum over the ice while your drink begins to cool. When you’re ready to serve, garnish with a small piece of mint or a slice of lime. Zingy and crisp, this drink fits the bill on a hot day outside or a cool summer night.

The Right Mint

To get the exact flavor that this drink is known for, you need to make sure you buy the right kind of mint. Some people make the mistake of accidentally using spearmint, which gives the drink a strange icy flavor that can even clash with your choice of rum. What most people prefer for their mojito mint is a plant called yerba buena.

You have to be careful about the specific variety that you are purchasing if you plan to make a mojito. When in doubt, do the smell test. The best mint for a mojito is going to have a strong citrus smell, whereas spearmint may smell like a piece of gum.

So until the possibility of Cuban travel becomes a reality, which may be soon if current news reports are any indication, you may just have to find a little piece of Havana solely in the mojito. This fun summer drink can help you keep your cool as the temperature rises.

Like so many classic cocktails, this venerable Cuban creation is a sturdy drink — great in the hot, moistish weather we’re still kinda sorta having in Southern California — that can bear a number of variations and is actually quite easy to make. And, or so the Wikipedians tell us, it’s possibly a relatively ancient drink and was even approved of by the Cuba and daiquiri loving Ernest Hemingway. What other encouragement do you need?

The Mojito

2 ounces light rum
1/2 to 1 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice/wedges
1-3 teaspoons superfine sugar
2-5 sprigs of fresh mint
1-2 ounces (approx.) club soda or seltzer (sparkling water)

Combine lime juice and sugar — use more sugar to go with more lime juice or less to go with less — with mint in the bottle of an old fashioned glass or, perhaps, a smallish collins glass. Muddle enough to mix the sugar and juice and also lightly smash the mint leaves; they need not be pulverized. Add ice — very preferably crushed ice. Also add the spent lime wedges from your juicing. Stir vigorously with a swizzle stick or bar spoon — enough to melt some of the ice. Then, top off with a small amount of club soda or plain sparking water/seltzer and stir a bit more. It’s important to remember that last step. I know because I forgot a couple of times and wondered what was missing. Without just a dash of sparkle, a mojito fails to come alive.

*****

Though I provided a fair amount of flexibility above, there really are an enormous number of ways to skin the mojito cat and the ‘net provides no end of options. Even so, the simplest way I found was demonstrated by Rachel Maddow on a recent segment highlighted by this reasonable thought: “nuns deserve good drinks.” Her version was fairly similar to the way I make a caipirinha and involved less squeezing and measuring and definitely called for a wide-bottomed rocks glass on account of some heavy duty muddling. You basically just cut up a lime, throw in an entire tablespoon of sugar (!) and smash the heck out of it along with the mint leaves.

I found that version worked very nicely, but I was, to my own surprise, actually drawn more to the more squeezey/less smashy low lime juice and low sugar version promulgated by David Wondrich. If you keep the lime juice to 1/2 ounce, the natural sweetness of the rum and just one teaspoon of sugar is plenty to create a really full bodied refreshment. Still, the other ways are not one bit bad. There are doubtless many roads to mojito hell, most of them involving sour mix or who knows what other kinds of chemical monstrosities, but just as many paths to mojito enlightenment.

Because of U.S. labeling regulations, cachaça is frequently confused with rum. While rum is made from molasses, cachaça is made from sugar cane juice which makes them relatives, but anything but identical twins when it comes to flavor. As I understand it, most brands of the drink consumed in Brazil are also first-cousins to lighter fluid, but Leblon — the only brand I’ve tried so far — is of a far finer stripe and sells here for between $20-$30. The reason I know the brand is that it is buying influencing writers like me with bounteous alcoholic swag. Not a bad start, to be honest.

I’ve experimenting with the stuff for over a week and what I can tell you is that, like all really interesting booze, it’s a somewhat acquired taste, but I’m enjoying doing the acquiring. It has a complex flavor that is less sweet than rum or whiskey and is closer to dry gin or vodka, but with more than a hint of olives about it and some other odd flavors I can’t quite identify and am still getting used to. It makes an okay martini, but it’s terrific with a few splashes of ginger ale and a lot of ice. I’m sure there are lots of other classic drinks using gin or vodka it could be easily worked into.

So far, the Caipirinha, which is somewhere between and old fashioned and a mojito in terms of preparation, is the most intriguing way to go with cachaça that I’ve found, and it’s about as refreshing on a hot August night as any drink I’ve had. And, no, I have no idea how to pronounce the name of the cocktail, either.

The Caipirinha

2 ounces cachaça
2 teaspoons superfine sugar
1 lime

Cut a good sized lime into wedges. Add sugar and muddle vigorously in a rocks/old fashioned glass. The backside of a spoon won’t do here; you’ll want a proper muddler or a blunt instrument of some sort because you’ve really got to smash the lime wedges and sugar but good to form a sort of juicy paste. Add lots of crushed ice and pour the cachaça over it. Stir with a bar spoon or swizzle stick for maybe 30 seconds or longer to allow a lot of the ice to melt. Sip away.

****

The recipe the Leblon people provided me called for the drink to be shaken with vigor for about 10-30 seconds, and you can do so either in a cocktail shaker or by shaking the concoction in the glass itself using a professional-type shaker. My personal opinion is that’s only necessary if you don’t have crushed ice, because you’ll need a way to extract some water out of that ice fairly quickly. If you’ve got crushed ice handy, my way is easier, tidier and, I think, tastier.

Not surprisingly, there are endless variations on the caipirinha theme, many of them involving smashed fruits of various sorts. I haven’t tried any of them yet, but a lot of them sound delicious and you can definitely check out more recipes at the Leblon website. Personally, I’m just thinking about raiding my fridge for whatever fruits are there and seeing what happens.