Mojito

• 50 ml
  white rum Havana Club 3 Año, Bacardi Superior, or Banks 5 Island
• 25 ml
  fresh lime juice from approximately 1.5 limes — always fresh
• 15 ml
  caster sugar or simple syrup 2 tsp sugar or 15ml 1:1 syrup
• 8 sprigs
  fresh spearmint spearmint, not peppermint — the Cuban varietal yerba buena is ideal
• 60 ml
  soda water chilled — Fever-Tree or Sanpellegrino
• to fill
  crushed ice crushed, not cubed

1. 1

   Place 6 mint sprigs in a highball glass. Add sugar (or syrup) and lime juice.

   Technique Note ↓
   Technique Depth

   The sugar and lime juice are added before muddling to act as a medium — the granular sugar provides light abrasion against the mint cell walls, and the lime juice's acids help extract the water-soluble aromatic compounds. The sequence matters: mint first, then sugar and lime, then muddle.
2. 2

   Muddle lightly — 3–4 firm presses only. You want the oils from the leaves and stems, not the plant pulped. Over-muddling creates bitter chlorophyll tones.

   Technique Note ↓
   Technique Depth

   Over-muddling is the most common mojito mistake. The aromatic compounds in mint — primarily menthol, carvone, and limonene — are concentrated in the leaf's oil glands and stem tissue. Light pressing ruptures these glands and releases the oils. Vigorous pounding ruptures the leaf cells themselves, releasing chlorophyll (bitter, grassy) and destroying the delicate aromatic esters. The correct technique is closer to pressing than pounding.
3. 3

   Add rum. Fill glass with crushed ice, stir briefly with a bar spoon to combine and chill.

   Technique Note ↓
   Technique Depth

   White rum at 40% ABV serves as a solvent carrier for the mint and lime aromatics — ethanol dissolves fat-soluble aromatic compounds that would not dissolve in water alone. The crushed ice provides maximum surface area contact between the drink and the cold source, chilling rapidly. The brief stir integrates the sugar-lime-mint mixture with the rum before the soda is added.
4. 4

   Top with chilled soda water. One final gentle stir.

   Technique Note ↓
   Technique Depth

   The soda water must be cold and highly carbonated. The carbonation does more than provide texture — it drives lime and mint aromas upward through the liquid, delivering them to the nose with each sip. Flat or warm soda produces a diluted, texturally dead version of the drink. Pour gently down the inside of the glass to preserve carbonation.
5. 5

   Garnish with remaining 2 mint sprigs, slapped against your palm first. Add a lime wheel if desired. Serve with a straw.

   Technique Note ↓
   Technique Depth

   The slapping technique releases additional essential oils from the surface cells of the mint leaves — a quick, decisive impact against the palm is sufficient. The straw height is set so the drinker's nose is level with the mint garnish — the aromatic delivery of the garnish is part of the designed experience, not decoration.

Muddle gently. Press the mint firmly against the sugar and lime juice — once to release the oils from the leaves, once to confirm the bruise. Stop immediately. Over-muddling releases chlorophyll from broken leaf tissue, turning the drink green, bitter, and herbal in the wrong direction.

• 1. Cuban-style white rum: Bacardi Carta Blanca, Havana Club 3-year. Not dark rum, not spiced rum, not aged rum.
• 2. Fresh lime juice only. The difference between fresh and bottled lime is not subtle.
• 3. Spearmint (Mentha spicata), not peppermint. Peppermint is medicinal and aggressive in a cold drink.
• 4. Demerara syrup or raw cane sugar — white sugar is correct but lacks depth.
• 5. Soda water, never tonic. Tonic carries quinine bitterness that fights the mint.

• The mint should be bruised but visibly whole — not macerated, not fragmented.
• The drink should smell of spearmint oil, not herb tea.
• The soda water should be heard as much as tasted — the carbonation is part of the architecture.

• Caipirinha — cachaça, lime, sugar, no mint. The Brazilian cousin that shows what the base tastes like without the herb.
• Southside — gin, lime, mint, sugar, shaken. The Manhattan speakeasy-era variant.
• Dark and Stormy — dark rum, ginger beer, lime. The Caribbean cousin with a different aromatic register.