Mojito - a classic that never becomes too old

17 interesting points about the most discussed and love cocktail around the globe at the moment. The Mojito.

The 17  points:

1. Mojito - short introduction
2. My personal mojito recipe
3. Use a propper rum for your mojito
4. Cane sugar, liquid or the classic way?
5. Mint - always fresh
6. Limes - buy quality and cut them correct
7. Ice - how to make good (looking) ice to your mojito
8. Glass - which one to use?
9. Muddler - you need the right tool to make it taste better
10. Club Soda - which one is best?
11. Twist - Homemade mint syrup
12. Twist - Organic lemon soda and juices
13. Twist - Grapefruit
14. Twist - Triple sec liquor
15. Twist - Lime juice cordinal mixer
16. Twist - Fruit puree
17. Making large amount of mojitos

1: Mojito - a short introduction

The Mojito is an old classic drink, which creator isn’t quite clear. In short, two theories who claim to got it right. One claims is was inventet amongs black slaves back in the early days of USA, where the slaves used a predecessor of the rum we know today. The other theory claims that the first mojito was made on one of the expedition back in the columbus days, whicht came popular amount the  seamen , since they had nothing else to drink than rum. Regardless of who invented the mojito, we are truly greatfull!

Images in this article about the fantastic drink; the mojito.

The classic recipe for Mojito:

4 cl cubian light rum
8-12 fresh mintleaves
½ fresh lime cut i pieces
crushed ice
club soda
Cane sugar

Mash mint leaves, cane sugar and limes direct in a highball glass. Then fill in crushed ice to about 3/4 of the highball glass. Add the rum and stir well. At last top up with club soda and serve with a straw and a napkin.

2: My mojito recipe

After serval tests and tries, making the best mojito - my way, I came up with this very nice recipe:

4 cl light rum (Havana club blanco is just fine)
1 cl Monin lime juice cordinal mixer
10 cl organic mint soda
10 mint leaves
½ large lime cut into 6-8 pieces
4 cl homemade mint syrup (based on cane sugar)
½ filled highball glass crushed ice

I like it bitter with a lot of taste - and this one got it! You can always adjust the sweetness by adding more mint syrup. To make this mojito, flow these steps:

Mash mint leaves with mint syrup and limes in a propper tall/large glass. Add crushed ice and lime juice. Then add the rum and stir a bit, so it not only rum and ice at the top. Finaly add the mint soda and make a quick stir. That’s a nice mojito!

The reason why this mojito is so great, is to due the perfect balance between sour and sweet. Since I use mint syrup, I can enjoy the same taste throughout the hole mojito - no sugarbottom waiting for me. The mint soda makes a sweet taste with a twist of mint.

3: Use a propper rum for your Mojito

Since this is about making a good mojito, I would recomment you to use a good rum, thereby meaning a standard rum like havana, bacardi or Cruzan. I perfer a light rum, and since you don’t drink rum neat in a mojito, the above listed brands would do the job just fine. Note that cheeper rum have a bad taste that influence the overall taste with no option to hide it.  On the other hand, dont use a 7 or 12 years rum in your mojito, because you will be wasting your money then you compare the price with taste. Personaly I use Havana Club Blanco, and good light rum for a fair price.

4: Cane sugar - liquid or the classic way?

In a classic Mojito normal cane sugar is used and mashed togehter with lime and the mint. This creates the sweet layer at the bottom of a classic mojito, and makes the balance between sweet and sour. You can however also use a cane sugar syrup, which simple is cane sugar with water. Doing so, you will have the same sweetness in the mojito from top to bottom, which I perfer. Some cocktailsbar use crushed cane sugar, to become the same effect.

If you insist on using the classic cane sugar, I would recommend a not too coarse variant, so it will be able to quicly adopt the juice and thereby sweeten your mojito.

I perfer my own mint syrup to not only have the same tasting experience from top to bottom, but also to control the mint taste in my mojito. See point 11 for the  mint syrup recipe.

5: Mint - are they all the same?

The most commen mint plants are peppermint, spearmint and applemint. Most important is to use enough mint, and less important which species (I perfer spearmint - try to make your own test).10-12 mint leaves depending on size would be enough to create a delightfull mint taste in your mojito.

Buying mint is often best in small greengrocer’s shop, since here you get a large bundle for a cheep price (about 1£). Mint in bundle should not be bought more than 36 hours before use, since the mint lose a lot of strenght in short

Tip: Plant your own mint in ex. a barrel or tube. - Its very easy, and mint plantes can grow almost every conditions. Plant in spring or summer to get the best plant structure.

6: Limes - Cut them correct and buy quailty (ripe) limes

Don’t buy discount limes, they are low on juice which you need to make a perfect sour/sweet balance. Buy (if possible organic) ripe large limes, to become large amount of fresh lime juice. Organic limes doesn’t have a smack of pesticides, which is the case with non-organic lime - and this is actualy something that you can taste!

Cut your limes across the midle, to ensure you cut the all membrane at once. In this way, the lime juice will  not be prevented by the membrane to float out in your mojito.  Cut the lime in a total of 8 pieces, and use about 4 pieces in one mojito.

7: Crushed ice - nothing else!

Crushed ice is simply the only way to make a mojito look good!

Then going to town, its not only to make a large profit you get a lot of ice in your cocktail - its also for your own good. A proper amount of crushed ice is to fill about 3/4 ice in the glass, after muddling the limes, mint leaves and sugar. The ice will then not be fully melted after drinking the last drop - and you know the mojito was cold from start to the end.

if you don’t own a ice crusher mashine like the one, here is a few tips to make crushed ice fast and cheep:

Freeze about 50 cl water in a plastic bag. When frozen, put another 2 or 3 plastic bags around it and tie it. Now its time for some fun - throw the bag as hard as you can to the floor (watch out for your feet). Repeat this step until the ice feels crushed. Open the bag and enjoy the view of crushed ice

8: Which glass to use?

A mojito must be served in a tall stable glass. I like tall glasses with a capacity of 50 cl, since its then posible to make a good large mojito You need to work in the glass, and of course, it has to be presented in a proper way, which a tall glass do just fine. Ikea has a lot of good solid glasses for this perpose, but try to find a less ordinary glass in a special store, to make it a bit more fancy. The looks matter more than you think!

9: Without a muddler, you won’t get it right

Use a wooden muddler, to avoid breaking the glass!

A muddler’s job is to get the mint olie out of the leaves and the juice of the limes. If own one, you can use a fork, but it use is difficult to make it just as good as the muddler. Make sure you have enough space for the muddler in the glass,  then its easier to mash. When you have enough juice to cover the limes and mint, then you have done right!

10: Club Soda - just sparkling water?

Club soda also known as carbonated water, sparkling water and fizzy water.  Depending on how strong you want your mojito, club soda is used to thinning the drink, so its not just rum with juice on crushed ice Which brand to use is up to you, but make sure there is enough lime juice in the mojito, to ensure the tast will be too much carbonated water with no taste. Try differnt brands to test which one you like the best. Also sweeted carbonated water like lemon soda and citrus flavored sodas can be used. More you try, the more you know whats working, and what’s not.

11: Twist your Mojito - homemade mint syrup

Like i wrote earlier in this article, I prefer homemade mint syrup in my mojito, as a replacement for cane sugar. The good thing about using this syrup is that it floats though the drink, making it taste the same, no matter if you just begun or sucking the last squeeze out of it. An other good caracter regarding the mint syrup is, that it creates a fine round aftertaste. So how do you make this mint syrup you might ask?

Here’s how to make a nice tasting homemade mint syrup:
You need:
25 mint leaves
300 grams of cane sugar
about 250-300 ml of water.

Boild the water together with the cane sugar. When it’s starting to get warm, add the washed mint leaves and “mash” gently the on the leaves to release the oil. Let it boild for 3-5 mins, and then put it aside for cooling. When cold, store in refrigerator in airtight container. In there, it keeps good for up to 5 weeks.

You can of course also add other ingredients, like lemon, ginger or retcurrants - it’s easy and I promise you, the more you try, the better mojito twist you get!

12: Twist your Mojito - Organic lemon soda and juices

Instead of using club soda, a lot of other soda can be used. Try to find some local produced soda, with a unique taste of lime, lemon, ginger or other strong flavor character. This can give your mojito a strong profile, making it taste powerfull! If you like it more over in the sweet end, try a elderberry or raspberry soda, its really good!

Also modern ciders can be used, or even champagne and asti. Try a mojito with Rekorderlig pear cider, or perhaps a royal mojito with champagne. Yummi! Just remember that by doing this, you add more alcohol, so be aware of not drinking more than good is

This is one of the easiest way to twist your mojito, and almost every soda or sparkeling wine can be used. Trial and error is the best way to find your favorite!

13: Twist your Mojito - Grapefruits

Since mojito as basic recipe is quite simple, it is possible to add new ingredients without making it too complex. An other great tip, is to add a citrusfruit or other fruits and mash it togehter with the rest. Try to add 2-3 slices of a fresh grapefruit or 6-8 raspberry to make a sour or sweet red mojito. If you are up to the latest trend within cocktails, why not try a cucumber mojito? Just add 4-5 chunks of cucumber and mash it well. Cucumber might not taste of much, but togehter with lime, sugar and mint, it makes your mojito perfect balanced and adds a light refreshing taste. Yummi It sounds wired, I know, but try this at home!

14: Twist din Mojito - Triple sec liquor

Why just stick to the rum, then making your mojito? I wouldn’t leave it out totaly, but try to replace half of the rum with a nice liquor or other favorite mixer. A triple sec liquor works perfectly if you like a orange twist, or try a strawberry liqor if you like it sweet. By adding colorfull liqors, you can also play with the visual side of the mojito, making even more fancy.

15: Twist din Mojito - Lime juice

If you are short on fresh lime, you can use a lime juice cordinal mixer to balance the sour-sweetness. Especially if you are making 30 mojitos, and need a cheep (and fast) replacement. If you only got a few limes for a hole evening, just use a minimum of limes and then add 2 cl of lime juice cordinal mixer. Its almost as good as the real stuff!

16: Fruit puree
Try to use fruitpure instead of cane sugar. Monin and Finest Call have made some fine purees, which however is relative sweet, so remember to leave out the cane sugar. As mentioned before, simple add the flavor you like and make sure to keep it within the right proportions. (about 2-3 cl fruit puree)

17:
You have a lager (non professional) party, and would like to serve 200 mojitos? no problem! This is a recipt and guideline for makeing large amount of mojitos:

About 180 mojito, you need:

60 ripe limes
5 big mint leaves bundles (its a lot of mint, buy it at your local greengrocer shop)
2,4 kg cane sugar
5 Monin lime juice cordinal mixer (70 cl)
10 bottles of rum
25 litre of club soda
3 large containers
10 kg ice

So what now? - Wash the limes and mint, and start cutting the limes in about 10 pieces each. Then and about 1/3 of the lime and mint leaves (and only the leaves!) to the first container. Use a muddler to squeeze the juice and oil out of the ingredients. Do it again, just to be sure you got it right. Now add about 800g of cane sugar, about 1 litre of lime juice cordinal mixer and stir well in the container for about 60-120 seconds. Repeat this with the remaining containers, so you end up with 3 almost filled containers with the mojito-groundbase. All this is made before the guest arrives to the party, since it takes one man about 1,5 hours to create!

Now you are ready to serve the mojitos as they get order in the bar. In a tall glass, simply add about 5 cl of the goundbase, 4 cl of rum, ice and top up with club soda. It takes less than 30 seconds and this is a best seller drink in your bar! It looks good, and taste far better than any other pre-made mojito.

If you like, club soda can of course be replaced by different soda - see point 12.

I wish you a good travel in the Mojito jungle - I promise you it won’t be borring!

limes, mint, mint syrup, Mojito, Mojito guide, muddler, Twist your mojito

This entry was posted on Monday, February 16th, 2009, 3:15 pm and is filed under Guide and tricks, Rum recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.