This minty mojito recipe is from a wonderful book of cocktail recipes called The Cocktail Primer: All You Need to Know to Make the Perfect Drink
by Eban Klemm.
I will let him tell you how to make a mojito recipe in his own words:
“I have departed from my usual way of writing a recipe. Walk with me.”
Eben Klemm has a long history of bartending and developing cocktail recipes.
He says: “I don’t believe in taking shortcuts with mojitos. I have had too many undrinkable ones to think otherwise. The time saved has never been worth the absence of pleasure.”
“I admit that I am very particular. For instance, you will note that I call for mint sprigs, although some bartenders like to use the leaves only. I prefer the stem’s stronger herb oils and like the fact that the stem keeps the leaves fresh while the drink is being consumed. At least half the joy in a mint cocktail is in the aroma. Thus, I endeavor to force the imbiber’s nose into a thicket of fresh mint leaf garnish.”
Mojito Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 teaspoons granulated white sugar, or demerara sugar
- 3 sprigs mint , roughly torn
- 1/2 lime, cut into wedges
- 2 1/2 ounces white rum
Instructions
- To the glass or bottom half of a cocktail shaker, in this order, add:
- 3 bar spoons or teaspoons granulated white or demerara sugar3 roughly torn mint sprigs3 lime wedges
- Muddle firmly 5 or 6 times. What is in the shaker is a "sandwich" for maximum muddle efficiency. The sugar on the bottom acts as an abrasive and helps rip the mint leaves apart.
- The lime wedges on top absorb the full force of the muddle and release juice even while protecting the mint from being bruised. You don’t want to rip the mint apart at this point; just weaken it. Never overmuddle mint. It ends up losing its vivaciousness and tasting like overcooked greens.
- Add: 2 1/2 ounces white rum
- Fill the shaker with ice and shake 10 times, at most. You do not need my ordained 20 shakes, because we’ve already blended most of the ingredients. At this point, you need only to stun the mint into falling apart. The mint is already weakened from muddling, and so it does not take a lot of shaking to do the job.
- Fill a highball glass with crushed ice and strain the drink over it. If you prefer a cocktail with more evidence of mint and lime, simply pour the contents of the shaker, ice and all, into an empty glass.
- If you like, top the drink with a splash of Club soda or citrus soda.
- Garnish the drink liberally with mint leaves.
- (Keep in mind that mint smells stronger than it tastes, so be as generous with the mint as you can. The bouquet will trick the brain into tasting it more fully.)
- Nestle a straw in their midst and serve.
The mojito is just one of our great summer drink recipes. Find them all here.
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