The Dos and Donts of Mojitos
Thursday, July 5th, 2007
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Well, it’s mojito season here in the northern hemisphere, which means it’s time for a little lesson for the novice and experienced mojito drinker alike. Follow these helpful hints, dear reader, and you won’t dare go wrong.
Do use crushed ice in your mojitos. Crushed ice will melt faster, which is a good thing in a drink with such strong flavors. The extra surface area of crushed ice also means a colder drink.
Do not use a pre-made mojito mix out of a bottle. This is one drink you want to do right.
Do use this recipe to make yourself a mojito at home.
Do not over-muddle the mint, or muddle the lime with the ice cubes. These are strictly amateur moves.
Do try Bacardi rum in your mojitos. For many of us, it is the closest thing we can get to real Cuban rum.
Do not use dark or gold rum in your mojitos. They can muddy the flavor tremendously.
Do use bottled mineral water in place of seltzer water. Remember, garbage in, garbage out.
Do not order a mojito when there is a line at the bar. Your bartender is probably not going to put a lot of love into it. In fact, you might get just the opposite.
Do order a mojito when the bar is slow. Your bartender will appreciate having an intricate cocktail to make. And if he/she doesn’t? Fuck ‘em.
Do not have ten mojitos tonight. At around 150 calories each, that’s like 1500 calories, there, fatty.
Do order a mojito from a reputable bartender at a reputable bar.
Do not order a mojito at a dance club, sports bar, drink stand, airport bar, OTB saloon, chain restaurant or fraternity house. You’re just going to end up being disappointed.
Do order a mojito on a warm summer evening.
Do not order a mojito when the weather is below 70°F. This is almost as bad as ordering a Bloody Mary after the sun has gone down.
Do slowly sip a mojito and enjoy the way the flavors meld over time.
Do not slurp down a mojito in less time than it took your bartender to make it. You’re probably already on the back burner for ordering it in the first place, and it’s going to be a while before you’re allowed another.
05 Jul 2007 at 11:17 am 1. Steve
Good, timely advice! I love a well-mixed mojito, but seriously f’ed up ones are far too common for me to order them regularly. Your recipe looks like a winner; I’ll have to try it out sometime.
By the way, how do you feel about Cruzan rum compared to Bacardi? I like Bacardi just fine, but it seems like when I make a drink with Cruzan it ends up having a stronger, rummier flavor, which I like. It’s also possible I don’t know what I’m talking about.
Steve
Liquor Store Stories
05 Jul 2007 at 11:38 am 2. Jimmy
Great, my ad expires, and you begin posting…..
I must disagree with this one:
Do not order a mojito at a dance club, sports bar, drink stand, airport bar…..
The best bar in San Jose, if you want a properly made cocktail, just might be the Martini Monkey at San Jose Airport.
05 Jul 2007 at 12:12 pm 3. Gabriel
My personal favorite rum to use in a Mojito is Cruzan Light. For me, it has just the right amount of sweetness and ‘rummish’ quality to blend wonderfully in this. I prefer it to Bacardi Silver.
However, I have to agree that going with Gold messes up a good Mojito; the Cruzan Light is as dark as I get with it.
05 Jul 2007 at 11:51 pm 4. Jeffrey
Steve, I think Cruzan makes a great mojito as well.
Jimmy, point taken, but you know what I meant!
Gabriel, I’m glad we’re in agreement. I had someone order a Myers’s dark mojito last week. Yikes. And this is from someone who loves a Myers’s daiquiri with a dash of orange bitters.
Thanks for the comments!
06 Jul 2007 at 3:47 am 5. Sean Bigley
Cruzan gets my vote too! I’m also not opposed to an occasional 10 Cane Mojito. But certainly not with my contraband Havana Club 7 anos. That’s my sippin’ stuff. I’m willing to share Jeffrey, but you better get to Vegas before it’s all gone!
Cheers!
06 Jul 2007 at 4:29 am 6. Scottes
I would think that the Cruzan is too light to really come through in a Mojito. I love the Cruzan, but I like a bit more taste in a Mojito.
I’ve found that the Ron Matusalem Platino is very close to the Havana Club Anejo Blanco, and much better than Bacardi Superior.
I recently ran a comparison involving these 4 rums as well as Pyrat Blanco:
http://scottesrum.com/tag/comparisons/5-white-rums/
06 Jul 2007 at 7:31 am 7. Maxine
Thanks so much for this! I attempted mojitos for the 4th of July and ended up with only a slight resemblance to what I was hoping for. I will definitely try your recipe when I give it another go. Can’t wait!
06 Jul 2007 at 7:35 am 8. Dan
10 Cane makes a fabulous Mojito.
Does anybody else ‘roll’ their Mojitos after it’s been built? I simply pour everything into my shaker shell and pour it back into my collins glass. Everything gets nice and mixed up (including the mint leaves) and it gives the drink a really nice look.
06 Jul 2007 at 11:24 am 9. Michael
over muddling the mint is not necessarily amateurish depending on a couple of factors. 1) increase the ratio of rum to lime juice. i’ve tried 3:1 with sucess. since the mint/sugar is more concentrated, i find the extra rum gives the drink a nice balance. 2) shake and STRAIN. no one wants tiny pieces of mint stuck in their teeth and clogging up their straw. I would never shake a mojito unless the flavors could stand up to the added water. (i would never shake whole leaves. that’s just wrong.)
as an added note, Ten Cane makes a great mojito. i certainly agree that dark or gold rums could muddy the flavors but not this one. of course you have to shall out 3x as much money. there’s that.
06 Jul 2007 at 12:20 pm 10. Booze Dummy
Michael, I’m sorry, but I’m a little confused. I like the look/presentation of lime rind and (whole) mint leaves in my Mojito. That’s a big part of what makes a Mojito a Mojito, at least to me. Besides, if you shake, strain, and don’t add water… isn’t that just a mint-flavored Daquiri?
06 Jul 2007 at 1:00 pm 11. Jeffrey
Here’s a question for Scottes, would 10 Cane be considered, technically, rhum agricole? I know it’s not made from molasses but rather pressed cane juice…
I don’t typically roll a mojito, but I’m not opposed to the idea. However, I think the swizzle component is an integral part of the drink.
As for straining a mojito, I’m going to have to go with Booze Dummy on this one. The mint and the lime rind are important elements to the cocktail.
And if you really want to do it right, use your fingers to squeeze that lime. You’ll find that by not disturbing the bitter pith you’ll end up with a much more authentic drink.
Cheers!
06 Jul 2007 at 1:46 pm 12. Scottes
Ten Cane is not an agricole, since agricoles are strictly regulated by the Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC), a set of very strict French laws governing how one makes agricole, cognac, etc.
Ten Cane is made in a similar way as agricoles - but so are Barbancourt rums and cachaca, and you have 3 very different tastes. Much of this has to do with the different distillation methods (agricole is distilled to 74 proof, cachaca generally much lower, Ten Cane probably much higher), yeasts, aging, etc. Since the AOC strictly defines the entire process you get similar tastes among agricoles, whereas cachacas can vary wildly.
Ten Cane does have some of the qualities of an agricole like the crisp freshness and the mild fruity tendencies and being on the dry side. And I have to agree that Ten Cane makes an excellent Mojito, but it can be done much cheaper.
06 Jul 2007 at 3:47 pm 13. Darcy
I’m glad to see your recipe doesn’t include bitters. A lot of people are saying that a Mojito contains them, but they don’t.
I love Havana Club Anejo Blanco rum. I find Matusalem rum to be very, very light in flavour. They even market at the vodka crowd. Flora De Cana has a good white rum.
07 Jul 2007 at 9:58 am 14. Michael
it’s a legitimate argument booze dummy. i wouldn’t shake and strain unless the mint was truly ground into more of a mint sugar paste. shaking and straining with limes and sprigs would result is something less palatable. i got the idea years ago from chefs Mary Sue Milliaken and Susan Feniger (of Border Grill fame) who whipped up a batch of premix in a blender with mint, lime juice and sugar, then strained it out. it’s not a traditional mojito, i suppose, but it still makes one hell of a good drink.
07 Jul 2007 at 1:29 pm 15. Jeffrey
Years ago I worked in a pretty high-volume restaurant bar, where we made a mint-infused brown sugar simple syrup for our mojitos. We would then juice a whole lime into the glass with an ounce of our mint simple, add rum, ice, and garnish with a sprig.
No, it definitely wasn’t traditional, but it tasted fine and we could crank them out by the dozen.
07 Jul 2007 at 3:28 pm 16. Betsy
I’m getting hordes and hordes of Google searchers invading my site for my mojito recipe.
I just updated the post to point them back to you/this page instead of sending them back to Google, poor souls!
You’ve got me re-examining my own rum choice - Cruzan Gold (must head to liquor store NOW) - but you should check out some of the variations I’ve come up with; I’d love to hear your thoughts!
08 Jul 2007 at 2:04 am 17. Jeffrey
Well, thanks, Betsy!
Definitely try silver rum in place of gold or dark. Remember, you want that bite to balance out the sugar, the mint, and the lime. Too much butterscotch and the whole drink falls apart. Keep those gold rums away from your mojito!
08 Jul 2007 at 11:09 am 18. Darryl
I like the look of the mint and lime in the drink as well, but since my blender screams bloody murder when I try to crush ice with it, I usually just shake and strain my Mojitos. When topped with a sprig of mint, they look just as nice to me.
I also go with Gary Regan’s tip and use granulated sugar, which grinds against the lime zest when muddling and results in a stronger lime taste.
And good point about Bacardi - it actually makes a damn good Mojito.
09 Jul 2007 at 9:33 pm 19. Dina
MMMkay… I swear to the lord… I just came over to your site to ask you about which rum was best for mojitos that I’m making this weekend… and lookit what I found on the main page!! AWESOME! It helps to have the right friends.
Can’t wait to make ‘em.
Thanks Jeff…
09 Jul 2007 at 9:56 pm 20. Jeffrey
Dina, I’m just glad I could help.
10 Jul 2007 at 9:01 pm 21. Dominik MJ
Yeah its Mojito time. I just cannot agree on the “do not use gold rum”. I also prefer white rum (Matusalem Platino is really great - I don’t like the relatively unbalanced flavors of Havana Club Anejo blanco though the best Mojito rum for me is for the moment Angostura 3 years; a slightly smoky white rum).
But most Cuban bartenders are using Havana Club 3 years for their mojitos nowadays and looks as it goes perfectly fine!
I also wouldn’t muddle the lime and just bruise but not muddle the mint (whole sprigs).
Though it is not a classic mojito a Bermuda Luxury “Mojito” is also a hell of a drink: just use Gosling Family Reserve instead of light rum - definitely less refreshing, but deep, complex and just superior!
11 Jul 2007 at 12:44 am 22. Sean Bigley
I still think I’ll go with the white rums myself. I’m not a big fan of vanilla, butterscotch, caramel notes in my Mojito. I only like to use the leaves of the mint. The stems are very bitter and will alter the flavor. As for muddling, I like to press the leaves just enough to release the oils.
It is great to see all the variations that everyone here uses, though.
Cheers!
11 Jul 2007 at 2:07 pm 23. Scottes
“Do not over-muddle the mint…”
Yesterday I visited Rumba, a rum bar here in Boston, and watched a young bartender make a Mojito. He was *grinding* the mint, putting his whole body behind the muddler, grinding like he was trying to turn the glass back into sand…
12 Jul 2007 at 8:31 am 24. Kevin Erskine
Mojitos are so yesterday…What are your thoughts on the caipirinha?
12 Jul 2007 at 1:14 pm 25. Jeffrey
Hey, everybody! This little discussion of ours has been picked up by Food and Wine Magazine’s Blog.
As for the caipirinha, I’ll get to that…
13 Jul 2007 at 6:43 am 26. Havanamike
While Jeff’s basic recipe is close to right on, here are a couple of more do’s and don’ts;
1) DO use yerba buena mint where possible, otherwise use english mint more commonly packaged at your grocer. I don’t order a mojito anywhere unless they have fresh mint. Stems are good too.
2) Don’t mix in bulk. This drink needs a tall highball glass and lots of love.
3) DON’T use simple syrups. use two rounded teaspoons of fine-easy disolving sugar. Better yet, use exactly four packets of splenda to cut down on the sugar calories.
4) DO muddle the mint, lime juice, sugar (or splenda) with a splash of the mineral water for 15-20 seconds. muddle and don’t grind. You are trying to extract the oils from the mint here and not trying to make a smoothie.
5) DO agree with the above that white Bacardi works best when Havana Club Blanco or 3 yr anejo are not available.
6) DO share and enjoy.
13 Jul 2007 at 8:26 am 27. Jeffrey
Thanks, Mike.
I get a lot of “purists” insisting that you should always use granulated sugar rather than - gasp - simple syrup.
These folks, like Havanamike here, will then direct you to add a splash of water and muddle the sugar with the mint, effectively making…. simple syrup.
Folks, you can use granulated sugar and end up over-muddling your mint and making a grainy simple syrup, or you can use simple syrup from the get-go and end up with a drink that has a fine, silky texture.
Your choice.
But nice list otherwise, Mike!
13 Jul 2007 at 5:22 pm 28. minion
actually, use havanna club rum instead of bacardi if you live somewhere where they are allowed to trade with cuba. bacardy is awfull compared to havana club.
03 Aug 2007 at 11:04 am 29. Mata
Honey I’m back in Javea, Spain and will definitely make your delicious mojito recipe for my friends THIS weekend! Tell you all about it later…hasta luego guapo!
13 Aug 2007 at 6:52 am 30. David
got to say i use Havana 3yr too. i just think that bacadi has too much of a brittle taste to it.
i would like peoples critical comments on my method, which is quite different to the one posted be still gives a very nice drink.
12 mint leave
3/4 of a lime
15-20mls gomme syrup
50mls havana 3yr
muddle sugar and limes in a glass boston. muddle quite hard to get the oils out of the skin of the lime. loosely tare up the mint leaves and add to glass with the rum. add cubes of ice and shake hard. pour in to collins glass and top with crushed ice heaped on top, sprig of mint and a drop of angostura bitters (not for flavour, for ascetics. it looks cool as it trickles down the extra crushed ice).
i shake the cocktail because
a) i believe the ice smashing against mint releases more of the flavour
b) because i dont have any crushed ice in my bar so shaking breaks up the ice cubes and
c) because it mixes the drink up evenly.
i dont add soda as the shaking the drink waters it down enough.
14 Aug 2007 at 10:23 am 31. Jeffrey
David
I’m sure your version tastes great, but we’re talking about a very traditional mojito here and there are a few things you don’t want to do when making a traditional mojito:
1. Use anything but white rum. Aged rums muddy the color of the drink and bring some funky caramel flavors to the party.
2. Shake a mojito. Trust me, this is one that wants to be stirred. If you want to crush that ice up, fill a mixing tin with cubes and muddle the hell out of them.
3. Muddle limes hard. Lime juice is a wonderful thing. Bitter lime oil is not. At least not in this drink.
4. Add Angostura bitters for color. A mojito should be pale green and clear as a spring day.
5. Destroy that mint. You want to press the oils out of the leaves, not pulverize the herb into a paste.
Oh, and do add soda water. Please.
22 Sep 2007 at 2:53 pm 32. Jimmy
Yeah, good advice…
I strongly argee with your rules on when to order and when not t order a Mojito…I’ve always viewed it as a drink to be had in the afternoon or on a warm summer night, I view Corona in the same way, drink the light beer when the weather is nice save the stronger dry beers for cold nights and crazy drinking parties.
I also agree with you on where to order it… My favorte place was a bar in asia that use to go to “La Habana”…Could there be a more fitting pace? No. However many of the women that I would find myself with would insist on ordering Mojitos in the crowed austailian sports bar at midnight…I never understood that.
12 Oct 2007 at 5:34 pm 33. Al
All you Carib rum drinkers out there have missed the very best rum for any drink
Thats Flor de Cana out of Nicoragua
Makes a great mojito as well
26 Oct 2007 at 12:04 pm 34. Kevin
It’s interesting to see how much everyone thinks they know about mojitos.
I live in Miami Beach and have been making mojitos for nearly 10 years and I can tell you one thing, there is no such thing as a traditional mojito anymore, and if you made a mojito down here the way you described, it would be returned. Guaranteed.
You are right about the rum though. White rum, preferably Bacardi, makes the best mojitos.
26 Oct 2007 at 1:05 pm 35. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Now, Kevin, you may not care for my recipe, but I do have a hard time believing that the proportions are so foul that everyone in Miami Beach would return the drink. Seriously.
02 Nov 2007 at 7:09 am 36. meemalee
At home, we’ve started making mojitos with agave syrup.
Hmmm, sacrilicious …
02 Nov 2007 at 7:48 am 37. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Meemalee, I think agave syrup is a wonderful way to sweeten a mojito. And lower glycemic index, too!
05 Jan 2008 at 4:07 pm 38. Ryan
Jeff,
Have you ever tried making a Mojito with Bacardi Coco (coconut flavored) Rum? I sent a friend on a mission for white run and he came back with the Coconut flavored stuff. Being a tropical drink, I figured it couldn’t hurt. It seems to really add something to the flavor without over powering the mint and lime.
Thoughts?
Salud!
05 Jan 2008 at 4:12 pm 39. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Ryan
I try to ride this line between attempting to remain very traditional when talking about, making or imbibing cocktails… and not being seen as a snob.
However, I’m going to have to take the high road on this one and say that I think coconut rum tastes like suntan lotion and should be consumed about as often.
However, if you’re looking for a coconut-flavored thrill, why not look for some coconut water? I’ve found it at my local asian and latin markets. Once you’ve procured some, it wouldn’t be hard to carbonate it and use it in place of soda water in your mojito.
Disclaimer: I’ve actually tried this before and it tastes pretty good. Without the suntan lotion flavor.
28 Mar 2008 at 4:21 pm 40. Stef
I made my first Mojito with your suggestions…ummm ummm good.
Thanks
10 Apr 2008 at 7:29 am 41. Jim Rees
I much prefer Havana Club to Bacardi. If I have none on hand I use Flor de Caña.
I did look into the various kinds of mint. In Havana they use (surprise) Cuban mint (mentha nemorosa), but if you just buy mint at the grocery store you get spearmint (mentha spicata). I can’t find Cuban mint here but I do grow a close relative, apple mint (mentha suaveolens) in my back yard and use that. I did a side by side taste test and they are different. But I can’t swear that you could tell the difference in a mojito, or that one is better than the other.
25 Apr 2008 at 9:35 pm 42. Callum
“Do not order a mojito when there is a line at the bar. Your bartender is probably not going to put a lot of love into it. In fact, you might get just the opposite.”
Have to disagree with this comment - as the Mojito is by far and away my favourite cocktail, I love making them - and it’s a welcome break from the endless Cosmos and French Martinis ordered by people who wouldn’t know a good cocktail if it slapped them in the face.
25 Apr 2008 at 9:36 pm 43. Callum
Meant to add - one of the best Mojitos I’ve had the pleasure of tasting was one in Tallinn, Estonia, where the bar used vanilla infused rum.
30 Apr 2008 at 7:31 pm 44. nancy
I would like to make mojitos for a small dinner party (8 of us) but since I’m hostess would like to do as much as I can beforehand…what if I made a pitcher of the muddled mints leaves, rum, lime and sugar and then poured this into my guests’ glasses with crushed ice and then added club soda? Thoughts?
(and my husband would make a terrible bar tender so that is not an option….)
30 Apr 2008 at 9:53 pm 45. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Nancy
I’ve never been very comfortable making a gallon of mojitos at a time, because it’s one of those drinks that needs to be built directly in the glass in order to be made properly. How will you dole out just the right amount of liquid and soggy mint into each glass? It seems like more trouble than timesaver.
Never fear, though, I do have an alternate suggestion for you:
Pre-mix each mojito in the glass - without the ice and soda water - an hour or two before dinner. Then cover each tightly with plastic wrap and place in the fridge until your guests arrive. When it’s time, even your husband shouldn’t have any trouble filling each glass with ice and topping them with soda water.
I hope this helps, and I think it should be much easier.
Jeff
21 May 2008 at 6:57 am 46. ND
We do get Havana Club over here, and it really is very good, with all those fruity flavours. However, a worthy variation on the classic IMHO, is to substitute the rum with cachaca… try it and let me know what you think!
28 May 2008 at 9:01 pm 47. Drago
Wow, I’ve just been re-treading through your site all day. First at work w/ the Tonic update and now skimming the archives. I have to say it’s my favorite drinks website, keep up the good work. (Though I also like Drink Dogma and The Paupered Chef sometimes has good cocktail posts.)
It’s funny how everyone has their own spin based on their personal tastebud profiles. I almost never have “light” rum on hand as I think it just doesn’t have much taste until you get to the more expensive brands that I can rarely afford! For mojitos, and just about any other rum concoction, I generally prefer the flavor of a golden rum, such as Appleton Special or (preferably) the Cruzan “Dark” Two-Year. (Which isn’t very dark.) However, I omit almost all of the sugar, just leaving enough to help the muddle, that way we don’t end up with a sickly sweet mess! The rest of your suggestions are spot-on.
I dread what ten mojitos would do to me…or what my heirs would do with my estate.
30 May 2008 at 12:37 pm 48. alixium
(love the blog, by the way)
Reminds me of a mojito horror story of mine: the following happened in a swanky open bar event, in a 5-star hotel. My friends and I are excited about ordering a mojito (should’ve known about the do’s & don’ts!!). The bartender indicates that he rarely did some, but he’ll attempt it for us (bad start). He grabs a highball, drops three mint leaves on the bottom of it, followed by a teaspoon of white sugar (yes! you read well!). He heaps a couple of ice cubes over that, and fills the glass half-way with dark rum. I am speechless at this point. He turns to me and says: - I don’t have club soda anymore, so I’ll just put 7-up. And picks up an already-opened can (which, I will later taste, is totally fizz-less!) and pour to fill the glass.
The worst drink ever.
01 Jun 2008 at 11:23 pm 49. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
(thank you)
Whenever I order a drink and witness some horrifying attempt at bartending like the one you described, I always remember to order one additional drink: a beer in a bottle.
I pay for the whole round, smile, tip the poor bartender that just fumbled through my drink, and leave with both hands full. The cocktail will quickly find itself abandoned on a table or the back of a toilet, and I’ll be enjoying my bottled beer before quietly leaving the establishment.
08 Jun 2008 at 10:53 pm 50. Michael Bolick
About the sugar , Its superfine or powdered in the original recipe . and when you muddle if you twist the mint leaves and then muddle in a little lime juice the acid helps release the natural oils.
I ts all about the type of sugar, mojito’s should be a merky light green.
04 Jul 2008 at 12:04 pm 51. Lisa
Mojitos are my favorite but when I am drug (not by choice) to a lower end bar that does not have a stash of mint, what concoction do I describe to the bartender that will get me the closest?
04 Jul 2008 at 12:48 pm 52. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Lisa - Not to sound high-and-mighty or anything, but if the bar doesn’t stock fresh ingredients, I don’t bother ordering a drink that requires them. Asking for a substitution for fresh mint is like asking for a substitution for fresh cucumber: such a product simply doesn’t exist.
Do yourself a favor and skip the mojito when you’re in a dive bar, and order a rum and soda instead. Extra points to the first person who can tell me what this drink is called.
04 Jul 2008 at 1:05 pm 53. ND
Would that be a Bacardi Highball? (With a gracious nod to cocktaildb.com, LOL). Do you think Fee’s mint bitters would enhance a Mojito, BTW?
07 Jul 2008 at 10:15 am 54. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
According to Wayne Curtis in his book “And a Bottle of Rum”, the drink is called a Mismo.