Mojito Cocktail Recipe: A Refreshing Rum Drink

Every once in a while you need a drink that will transport you someplace new.

This past week as we’re still deep in the heart of COVID…

As I have a six-week old learning how to “use her voice…”

And as we’re now buried under a foot of snow (a rarity here in Portland)….

It felt like time for one of those cocktails.

Enter, the mojito.

Or in this instance, the “snowjito.”

(I clearly am going to have to shoot more “mojito-esque” photos at some point, but we’re snowed in, so I’m rolling with it 🙂

My Love Affair with the Mojito

I can’t pinpoint exactly when my obsession with cocktails began. It may have been in Rio de Janeiro In 2009 where we sought to find the best Caipriniha in the city.

Or perhaps it was at Bamboo Bar in 2010 when I nursed a $10 Aviation in Bangkok.

But it was most certainly before spending 3 days in Havana, where we scoured the city in search of the perfect mojito.

Here’s one of my cringe-worthy early vlogs 🙂

Despite all the travels, my first memory of making a real cocktail at home outside your typical college “Seven and Sevens” or “Rum and Cokes” was making….a mojito!

My now wife and I were living in a tiny 482 square foot condo, we were coming out of the dead of winter, and we happened to have both mint and lime from a recipe we were making.

On a whim, I decided to try my hand at making the drink: too watery, too tart.

That next week we made mojitos every night, and it became my go-to craft cocktail to make at home.

Years went by where we made it occasionally, but as our travels took us all over the world to bars, and our cocktail book collection piled up, the mojito became more of a rarity in our lives.

But now?

It’s cold.

It’s dark.

And I could use a reminder of what it was like strolling through the streets of Havana with a mojito in one hand, and a likely fake Cohiba cigar in the other.

What is a Mojito Cocktail?

A mojito is a mix of white rum, club soda, sugar, lime and mint. It’s a long drink served over ice, and is one of the most popular and most common rum drinks out there.

There are a few different origin stories for the mojito. One details African slaves coming up with one of the original versions of the cocktail while working in the Cuban sugarcane fields.

An even old version of the story dates back centuries before to Sir Francis Drake. Taste Cocktails did a pretty good version of these stories, so if you’re interested in the history, I’d check out their post.

How to Make a Mojito 

A mojito is one of those cocktails that falls into the category of “easy to make, difficult to master.”

I’ve had dozens of mojitos over the years, and despite most of them having the same ingredients, the drinks ranged from absolutely phenomenal, to barely drinkable.

So what separates one from the other?

The ratios are a big part of it.

It’s common to see Mojitos pumped with too much fake sugar, or topped off with too much club soda leading to a watery drink.

When you can strike the perfect balance of these ingredients you’re left with a refreshing cocktail, that still can pack a punch.

There are two ways I generally make mojitos: the traditional way and the pretentious way.

The latter is a recipe I got out of Meehan‘s Bar Manual, and it honestly maybe my favorite variation on the drink. But, when you make it doesn’t really feel like you’re drinking a mojito since the finished result isn’t served in a tall glass, and doesn’t have any lime wedges or mint leaves in the drink itself.

So today we’re going to share the traditional way of making it.

Here are the mojito ingredients:

• 2 oz white rum
• Half a lime
• 1/2 oz simple syrup
• 10 mint leaves
• 4 oz club soda

Here’s how to make a mojito:

• Take half a lime and cut it into quarters
• Muddle the lime wedges,10 mint leaves, and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker
• Add the rum and fill the tin with ice.
• Shake for 20 seconds.
• Fill a tall glass with fresh ice, strain the drink over the ice, and top with 4 oz club soda
• Voila!

With this drink, you can also forgo the strain and include the lime wedges and mint in the drink itself.

This will undoubtedly give you a more traditional-looking cocktail. But when you do this, you might find yourself picking little pieces of mint out of your mouth – and I generally prefer to strain it when I’m making mojitos at home.

Looking for recommendations on barware to help you make drinks like this? Here are our favorite bar tools.

Other Similar Cocktails you Might Enjoy

• Strawberry Lemonade – Another refreshing long drink
• Lost Lake Cocktail – A slightly tart passionfruit tiki cocktail
• Margarita – If you’re here, I’ll just assume you know what a margarita is
• Daiquiri – No not the overly sweetened strawberry kind. The traditional daiquiri, which is another phenomenal cocktail to come out of Cuba!