The recipe
for your table
Put the sugar and lime juice in the glass and stir until the sugar dissolves.
Clap the mint leaves between your hands and gently press them into the glass—don't crush them, as that makes them bitter.
Fill the glass with crushed ice and pour the rum over it; stir briefly.
Top with soda water, another layer of ice and a generous sprig of mint.
The story
The roots of the Mojito lie in sixteenth-century Cuba, where sailors drank a rough concoction of aguardiente, lime and mint—the 'Draque', named after privateer Francis Drake. As rum became more refined, so did the drink, and somewhere in Havana it acquired the name Mojito, possibly from 'mojo', the Cuban lime sauce. Bar La Bodeguita del Medio in Havana claims the modern version, helped by a (probably invented) Hemingway signature on the wall. True or not, the Mojito became Cuba's calling card and is here to stay.
The right glass
The Mojito is a layered drink—sugar, mint, ice, rum, bubbles—and therefore needs height. A long drink glass of 36 to 55 cl is ideal: tall enough for all the layers of crushed ice and sturdy enough for muddling. Choose a glass with a thick base, so you can press down without worry. A lightly textured glass gives the whole drink a Cuban vintage look. Tall glasses with a thick base for muddling can be found in our mojito glasses.
Onis Cidra Long Drink Glass 55 cl (6 pieces)
Duralex Picardie Long Drink Glass 36 cl (6 pieces)
Both sets — € 36.94 together, free shipping from € 50.
Variations & twists
The Royal Mojito uses champagne instead of soda water, while the Dirty Mojito gets a splash of dark rum as a float. Strawberries or passion fruit make excellent fruit variations for parties. And the Virgin Mojito proves that the recipe holds up without rum, too. Looking for more inspiration? Browse all 80 cocktail recipes.
Servingtip
Serve with a straw and a long bar spoon, so guests can stir up the sugar from the bottom. Never crush the mint: muddling releases aroma, while tearing it creates bitterness.
Virgin Mojito: the same taste, 0.0
If you simply leave out the 4.5 cl of white rum, you end up with a refreshing lemonade that is mostly sweet. It works better to replace the rum with 4.5 cl of non-alcoholic white rum, or with 3 cl of chilled green tea and half a teaspoon of lime zest; this provides the slightly bitter structure normally supplied by the rum. Keep the 3 cl of fresh lime juice and the two teaspoons of cane sugar, and muddle the mint in exactly the same way. Our site also features the Virgin Mojito as a separate recipe.
Strawberry Mojito and other fruit versions
Muddle three ripe strawberries with the cane sugar and lime juice before adding the mint, and leave the rest of the recipe unchanged. Do not add more, as too much fruit pulp makes the drink cloudy and clogs the straw. Passion fruit works just as well: the pulp of half a fruit is enough. With raspberries or blackberries, it is worth straining the mixture before topping up. Do not increase the amount of sugar, even with tart fruit, because the fruit adds sweetness of its own.
Mojito for a group from the pitcher
For six glasses, mix 27 cl white rum, 18 cl fresh lime juice, and twelve teaspoons of cane sugar in a 1.5-liter pitcher, and stir until the sugar has completely dissolved. Add fifty mint leaves, press them gently, and chill the pitcher for one hour. Strain out the mint afterward; otherwise, the mixture will become bitter. When serving, fill the glasses with crushed ice, pour until they are two-thirds full, and top each glass with approximately 4 cl of soda water. Place fresh mint directly in the glass.
Muddling without bruising the mint
The most common mistake is crushing the mint. Mint oil is on the surface of the leaf and is released with light pressure; the bitter compounds are in the veins and are only released when you twist and squeeze. Place the leaves on the cane sugar and lime juice, press straight down two or three times, and then stop. The sugar crystals act as an abrasive, which is exactly why cane sugar works better than syrup. If you see black flecks in the glass, you’ve gone too far.
Frequently asked questions
What goes into a Mojito?
A Mojito contains 4.5 cl white rum, 3 cl fresh lime juice, 2 teaspoons of cane sugar, 8 to 10 fresh mint leaves, soda water, and crushed ice. First dissolve the sugar in the lime juice; only press the mint gently, as crushing it makes the cocktail bitter.
How do I make the perfect Mojito?
First dissolve the cane sugar in the lime juice, gently press the mint, fill the glass with crushed ice, and pour the rum over it. Top with soda water and a generous sprig of mint. Use a tall glass with a thick base that allows you to press the ingredients; see our highball glasses.
How do I make an original Mojito?
The Cuban base is white rum, fresh lime juice, cane sugar, mint, and soda water, built in the glass rather than shaken. Don’t use ready-made syrup or lime concentrate, and only clap the mint briefly between your hands, exactly as they do in Havana.
How do you make a Mojito without alcohol?
Leave out the rum and top up with extra soda water or sparkling lime water; the rest of the recipe remains unchanged. Sugar, lime, mint, and plenty of crushed ice preserve its character completely. You can find our full recipe on the Virgin Mojito page.
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