La Habana Vieja and the rise of the Mojito
Cigars, Rum and Salsa Music: the Staples of Cuban Culture...
Jun 27, 2008
With salsa and reggaeton music spilling out of every window, older gentlemen in elegant white three-piece suits smoking cigars on sun-dappled park benches, and lovingly maintained American cars from the 1950s maneuvering down narrow cobblestone streets, Havana welcomes you to a timeless era.
The earliest known written reference to the term "cocktail" as a drink based on spirits with other spirits and/or other additives goes back to an early American magazine called "The Balance", published in May 1806.
"Cocktail is a stimulating liquor, composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water, and bitters - it is vulgarly called bittered sling and is supposed to be an excellent electioneering potion"
Traditionally made with fresh spearmint leaves, lime, sugar cane juice, white rum and club soda, this Cuban cocktail is meant to be a clear rum cocktail whose delicate balance of slightly sweet (the sugar) and slightly sour (the lime) perfectly supports the spearmint while masking the booziness of the rum.
The secret to a perfect Mojito is all in the muddler. A few whole sprigs of spearmint should not be tossed into the Mojito glass as an afterthought; if you see your bartender do this, run for the door. The mint leaves must be muddled with tender loving care in order to break apart the fibers and release their refreshing flavor. Likewise, if your bartender starts pouring packaged lime juice into your Mojito glass, run screaming for the door. Packaged lime juice will almost certainly overwhelm this mint cocktail and give it a cloudy appearance. The lime wedges should be muddled just enough to liberate the fresh juice, and then added sparingly to the mojito glasses in order to preserve the crisp clarity of the cocktail.
Try out this Mojito recipe to quench your thirst:
1 teaspoon powdered sugar
Juice from 1 lime, to taste
4 mint leaves
1 sprig of mint
white rum (2 ounces)
2 ounces club soda
Place a lime wedge, peel side down, in a small bowl and gently prod the lime with a muddler to release the juice. Discard the lime and pour the juice into a tall mojito glass. Add the mint leaves and powdered sugar to the lime juice. Gently mash the mint into the juice and sugar with a muddler. Add ice (preferably crushed) then add the rum and stir. Top off with the club soda. Garnish with a mint sprig. Serve with a smile. Better yet, pull out your Mojito pitcher and all your Mojito barware and make a full batch.
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