Mojito (Cuban Rum, Mint and Lime Cocktail)
Photo: Tatyana Vega / Unsplash
White rum, fresh mint, lime juice and sugar, gently muddled and topped with soda water and crushed ice. Havana's most famous cocktail. Contains alcohol.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Dissolve the sugar
In a tall glass, stir the white sugar into the fresh lime juice until no grains remain.
- 2 tsp white sugar
- 30 ml fresh lime juice
✅ Done when: sugar is fully dissolved, liquid looks clear
Muddle gently
Add the mint leaves and press them gently with a or spoon 3–4 times, just enough to release their oils. Do not shred them, or the drink will turn bitter.
- 8–10 leaves fresh mint leaves
✅ Done when: mint smells fragrant and leaves look lightly bruised, not torn
Add the rum and ice
Pour in the rum, then fill the glass to the top with crushed ice.
- 50 ml white Cuban-style rum
- 1 cup crushed ice
✅ Done when: glass is packed full of ice
Top and serve
Top up with soda water and stir gently from the bottom to mix everything evenly. Garnish with a mint sprig and the lime wedge, then serve with a straw.
- 60 ml soda water
- 1 sprig mint sprig (garnish)
- 1 lime wedge
Dissolve the sugar
In a tall glass, stir the white sugar into the fresh lime juice until no grains remain.
- 2 tsp white sugar
- 30 ml fresh lime juice
✅ Done when: sugar is fully dissolved, liquid looks clear
Muddle gently
Add the mint leaves and press them gently with a or spoon 3–4 times, just enough to release their oils. Do not shred them, or the drink will turn bitter.
- 8–10 leaves fresh mint leaves
✅ Done when: mint smells fragrant and leaves look lightly bruised, not torn
Add the rum and ice
Pour in the rum, then fill the glass to the top with crushed ice.
- 50 ml white Cuban-style rum
- 1 cup crushed ice
✅ Done when: glass is packed full of ice
Top and serve
Top up with soda water and stir gently from the bottom to mix everything evenly. Garnish with a mint sprig and the lime wedge, then serve with a straw.
- 60 ml soda water
- 1 sprig mint sprig (garnish)
- 1 lime wedge
The Story Behind the Dish
The mojito's ancestor was 'El Draque', a drink of aguardiente (rough cane spirit), mint, lime and sugar, named after the English privateer Francis Drake. When smoother white rum appeared in the 19th century, the modern mojito was born.
Havana's bar La Bodeguita del Medio made it world famous in the 20th century.
⭐ Why It's Famous
Refreshing, minty and not too sweet, it's the taste of a hot Havana afternoon.
💡 Fun Fact
Cubans use hierbabuena, a local mint that's milder and sweeter than the spearmint often used abroad.
Havana
23.14°N, -82.35°W
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