Cuban Mojito (Mow-HEE-tow)

This Cuban drink is extremely refreshing and is a great cocktail to drink on a hot summer day. Mojito means "little sauce" in Cuba, where this drink is very popular. I call this drink the Cuban version of a Mint Julep.

Bacardi Company traces the drink’s roots to 1586, when Francis Drake and his pirates tried to sack Havana for its gold. While the invasion was unsuccessful, Drake’s associate, Richard Drake, was said to have invented a mojito-like cocktail known as El Draque made with aguardiente (a crude forerunner of rum), sugar, lime and mint. Early on, it was consumed for medicinal purposes. Around the mid-1800s, the recipe was altered and gained in popularity as the original Bacardi Company was established.

Other accounts suggest that slaves working in Cuban sugar cane fields in the late 19th century invented the mojito. This drink is a cousin of the Brazilian cocktail, Caipirinha.

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Cuban Mojito

Each Serving:
1 tablespoon granulated sugar or 2 tablespoons simple syrup (see recipe below) *
8 to 10 fresh mint leaves
1 lime, halved crosswise or 3 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lime juice
2 ounces white rum
Crushed ice
3 ounces mineral water or soda water, chilled
Mint sprigs for garnish

Place the mint leaves and sugar in a tall glass; crush sugar (or simple syrup) and mint with back of a spoon for 20-30 seconds, until you can smell the mint.

Cut the lime in half, getting rid of the seeds. Squeeze the juice out from both halves into the glass, then drop ½ lime into the glass.

Pour in the rum and stir. Add plenty of ice, then top off the mixture with mineral water or club soda. Garnish with a sprig of mint and enjoy!

Makes 1 serving.

Simple Syrup:

Heat equal parts sugar and water in a saucepan until just before boiling.
Boil for 5 minutes without stirring; remove from heat.
Refrigerator syrup mixture overnight in a closed jar. This syrup mixture will keep for several weeks. cool before using.