Cocktail Tutorial: Mojito

Mojito

Another favourite drink of Ernest Hemingway during his stay in Cuba.

Mojito is one of the harder drinks to make - the order of building the ingredients is important. Remember to muddle lime first, then mint - mint should only be given a few gentle dabs, not forceful muddles that will bruise the leaves and bring out a bitter flavour. Crushed ice should be added just before the soda water, to minimise dilution of the cocktail.

In the tutorial, I used 2 lime wedges (approx. 15ml lime juice) - less than the official recipe, as I like my Mojito to be a bit sweeter than the original version. 

Mojito should be made with ice that is manually crushed - use of large ice cubes will result in more soda water being used, which will destroy the taste of the Mojito due to its salty taste. Conversely, the use of pulverised ice powder made with a blender will dilute the drink too fast. Therefore it is best to make the crushed ice yourself, so that the ice fragments are just the right size. 

The use of sugar syrup rather than powdered sugar makes it easier to achieve an even taste of the drink (30ml of sugar syrup balances well with 30ml of lime juice). If using powdered sugar, make sure to stir it well before adding ice, to ensure full dissolution of the sugar (this was not done enough in the video). Give the drink another good stir before adding soda, just to ensure all ingredients are properly mixed.

Type: Long drink cocktail

Method: Muddle

Glass: Collins glass

Garnish: Mint sprig

Official IBA recipe (before November 2011)

4.0 cl. White Rum

3.0 cl. Fresh lime juice 

3 sprigs of Mint

2 teaspoons Sugar 

Soda Water

Muddle mint sprigs with sugar and lime juice. Add rum and top with soda water. Garnish with sprig of mint leaves. Serve with straw.

Music: Caro Emerald - A night like this

Cameraman: Courtney