This is a clean, simple cocktail that is almost as easy to drink as it is to make. He won hundreds of thousands of hearts around the world and became the main thirst quencher in the summer heat. And Mojito was the favorite drink of the most famous drinking writer – Ernest Hemingway.
This article was written in a sober state, so I did not have any chances for editing, so do not blame me.
Write drunk, edit sober.
Ernest Hemingway
There are a couple of versions of the origin of the word “mojito”. One says that it comes from the Spanish word mojo (mojo) – this is how the Cubans and Canarians call the sauce, which includes vegetable oil, garlic, pepper, herbs and lemon juice. But I prefer another version, which states that “Mojito” is a derivative of the Spanish “Mojadito” – “slightly wet.” It seems that this phrase fully describes the essence of Mojito.
According to one of the legends, the Mojito cocktail originated thanks to pirates. A certain Francis Drake, who served as a filibuster in the British fleet, sailed the Caribbean with all his brethren – no less than fifty ships. He robbed, smashed, killed, in general, had fun as best he could. Then the sailors did not have much fresh water – it quickly deteriorated, and then Drake thought of taking rum on board instead of water. The team was not particularly upset, but it was hard to sip rum just like that, but it was necessary to work for the good of the pirate community. We thought of adding water, lime juice and mint – it went easier. Romantic, but unlikely.
The most truthful version says that the first Mojito in its current form was prepared in 1942 in Cuba, or rather in the capital, Havana. It happened in the bar La Bodeguita del Medio, which was founded by the Martinez family. To this day, this bar pleases its visitors with excellent Mojito – it was there that old man Ham tried it for the first time, and there are also the works of photographer Adrianis Rodriguez, who also liked the drink. Mojito rose to the pedestal in the 80s in the USA, and later got into the lists of classic cocktails of the International Association of Bartenders. And away we go!
Nowadays, there are a huge number of Mojito recipes, but none of them can compare with the classic. Simple and understandable.
Cocktail recipe Mojito / Mojito
Ingredients:
- 40 ml of white Cuban rum;
- 30 ml of lime juice;
- 6 mint leaves;
- 2 teaspoons of cane sugar;
- soda or soda.
Preparation:
- Muddle mint leaves in a collins glass with sugar and lime juice;
- add a little soda and fill the glass to the top with crash (crushed ice);
- add rum and top up with soda;
- gently mix the cocktail with a bar spoon, lifting the pressed mint up;
- top up the crash, decorate the glass with a sprig of mint and a slice of lime.
Cooking Tips:
- use only fresh peppermint, preferably not from your grandmother’s garden – beautiful and fragrant varietal mint from Israel is sold in markets, it is expensive;
- before cooking, it is advisable to “wake up” the mint, that is, hold the branches with one palm and slap them with the other;
- rum only Cuban: Havana Club – ideally, Ron Varadero – in bad times, Bacardi (Puerto Rico) – in the worst;
- it is best to use lime juice, and not to crush the slices directly in the glass – the zest gives off an unpleasant bitterness;
- mint does not need to be pressed hard: firstly, it will give bitterness, and secondly, small pieces will clog the tube, it is the leaves that need to be pressed – the stems give a herbal flavor.
Don’t be afraid to experiment. Plenty of cooking options. In institutions, however, they sin and sin critically. It is very rare to find a truly worthwhile Mojito. According to the above recipe, as a rule, no one cooks with us – this is a Cuban chip. We will definitely crush lime in a glass, sugar syrup instead of sugar, and sprite or tonic instead of soda. Better to do at home.
For those who do not drink or drive, I advise you to try the non-alcoholic Mojito – the preparation is the same, just do not add rum. The non-alcoholic version perfectly tones up and quenches thirst in the summer. I also want to offer you to cook homemade Mojito, our way, in a jar.
Mojito at home in a jar
Served in a regular half-liter jar with or without a lid. Now you can buy such jars with a handle and a lid with a hole for a straw. It’s better to have one than not to have one! ©
Ingredients:
- 100 ml of white Cuban rum;
- 30 ml sugar syrup;
- 200 ml soda;
- 100 g lime;
- 10 g mint.
Preparation:
- in a jar, mash 15 mint leaves with the juice of one lime and sugar syrup;
- add 3 cups of lime to the jar and fill it with ice;
- add rum and top up with soda;
- gently mix the cocktail with a bar spoon, lifting the pressed mint up;
- top up with ice, garnish with a sprig of mint and a circle of lime;
- One portion is enough for 2 people.
Mojito cocktail firmly holds the first position in the ranking of classic drinks. It invigorates, refreshes, but with a certain amount it can also intoxicate. Unfortunately, today it has been greatly “opized”, defiled, turned a real cocktail “icon” into a pathetic parody, starting to pour something chemical into cans and sell it under the guise of “classics”. Commerce … The same thing happened to Tom Collins, the same thing was waiting for Margarita around the corner. Prepare a real, classic Mojito and you will understand what we are talking about. Papa Ham was on point, that’s for sure!