How to Make Mojitos

Follow these simple steps on how to make Mojitos and you'll be whipping up the best darn cocktails in town! With its refreshingly well-balanced combination of ingredients, everyone will be asking you for your Mojitos recipe. Whether you're willing to share your secrets? ... Now, that's up to you.

A mojito is one of my absolute favorite cocktails to enjoy. When it comes to mojitos, it's all about that mint! And the lime. And the rum. And how those flavors all play together.

A refreshingly delicious traditional Cuban cocktail, mojitos are a simple mix of just five basic ingredients mint, fresh lime juice, sugar, white rum, and sparkling water.

The lime, sugar, and mint are muddled, or smashed, together in the glass itself to release all the wonderfully flavorful oils from the mint leaves. The cocktail is then topped off with a shot of rum, ice, and sparkling water to create one refreshingly thirst-quenching drink.

A refreshingly delicious traditional Cuban cocktail, mojitos are a simple mix of just five basic ingredients.

But the combination of those five simple mojito ingredients can easily go awry.

Because the key to a truly great mojito is balance.

Sure, you can certainly make a good mojito without paying particular attention to the details of how the ingredients are handled and combined together. But to make a GREAT mojito? The kind of mojito where everyone asks for your secret mojito recipe? Now that requires a little attention to detail to get the ingredient balance just right.

Because mojitos can easily go from refreshing and tasty to down-right bitter if their simple ingredients aren't balanced well. Or if that wonderfully aromatic fresh mint that's a hallmark of this drink isn't handled well to deliver up optimal flavor.

Mojitos can easily go from refreshing and tasty to down-right bitter if their simple ingredients aren't balanced well.

Fortunately, the little details to pay attention to to yield a big-flavored, well-balanced mojito are easy to do!

Those little details that will deliver you up a nicely balanced, tasty mojito fall into 3 general areas:

1. Ingredient amounts

2. The mint

3. The muddling

1. Ingredient amounts

When it comes to mojito ingredients, measuring is important. It's easy when making a mojito to just toss a little sugar and a squeeze of lime into a glass with some mint, and then pour in a dose of rum and a splash of club soda ... without giving the amounts too much thought. But this can easily lead to a mojito that's too sweet ... or too sour ... or bitter ... or just plain too strong on the alcohol.

The no-measure method like this is not going to deliver up the most refreshing, best tasting mojito around. Because it's not giving the balance of ingredients this classic cocktail needs to be its best.

Nope, the mojito is one cocktail where measuring is actually important. Because measuring leads to the best-tasting ingredient combination. So actually grab and use those measuring spoons and that jigger when mixing up your mojito.

2. The Mint

So much of what we taste comes from our sense of smell, and that's certainly true when enjoying a mojito. Choose fresh, fragrant mint for your mojito ingredients.

You know what you do with that mint when you garnish your glass? Slap it!

And then you know what you do with that mint when you garnish your glass?

Slap it!

You read that right slap your mint sprig. Place the mint sprig in one of your hands and then slap it like you're clapping. This releases some of the aromatic oils in the mint ... which lets you get a good smell of the mint when you sip and accentuates the flavor of the cocktail.

Oh, and when you put mint in your glass to muddle it, be sure to put in only mint leaves and not the stems. Stems quite often have a bitter taste to them.

3. The Muddling

Muddling is a technique of crushing something to release its flavor into a drink. It's typically done by using a cocktail muddler or the back of a sturdy spoon to press the ingredients against the side of the glass.

When making a mojito, muddling releases the oils from the mint leaves into the glass, making for one super refreshing cocktail. But there's definitely a right way and a wrong way to muddle the mint to get the best mojito flavor.

There's definitely a right way and a wrong way to muddle the mint to get the best mojito flavor.

For the best flavor, muddle the mint just until it's bruised and fragrant, but definitely not completely crushed or torn to shreds. Tearing or crushing the mint too much can create a bitter tasting drink because it releases bitter-tasting chlorophyll from the leaves.

So when you muddle, think of it as just a simple gentle press.

Once the mint leaves are muddled with a little granulated sugar and fresh lime juice, add in good quality white rum ...

Then fill the glass 3/4 full with crushed ice, and top everything off with a splash of club soda or sparkling water.

I recommend using only 2 to 3 ounces of club soda. Including too much can dilute the cocktail, and therefore dilute the taste.

Finally, garnish your glass with a lime wedge and that slapped mint sprig ... and you're ready to sip away on one refreshingly well-balanced and tasty mojito cocktail. Or if you'd like to sip on a flavored mojito, give our popular Coconut Mojito or easy Watermelon Mojito a try!

So grab a handful of mint and mix one up to enjoy today. This mojito recipe is so good, everyone will be asking you for your secrets. Whether you're willing to share those secrets? ... Now, that's up to you.

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Beverages

Yield: 1 cocktail

Author: Tracey |