Classic Mojito

Few drinks are quite as transporting and thirst-quenching as the mojito. An ice cold combination of cane sugar, limes, and rum, the refreshing drink grew popular in Cuba in the 19th century and through the Prohibition era. Chilled with crushed ice and splashed with fizzy soda water, a mojito is classically refreshing and delicious—the only downside is that it will be gone before you know it.

To make a mojito for an instant vacation in the warmer months, simply muddle some mint, limes, and sugar in a glass. Add rum, crushed ice (always crushed!), and top with bubbly club soda.

Learn how to make a mojito. Then, close your eyes, sip, and pretend you're out of office.

Ingredients For a Mojito

While these ingredients are standard, the mojito is an easy drink to riff on—popular mojito variations are blackberry, cucumber, or even cranberry. But for just getting started, here's what you need:

• Lime wheels: Some of the lime wheels are muddled along with mint and sugar, while a reserved lime wheel is used for garnish.
• Fresh spearmint leaves: Most people make mojitos with spearmint leaves if they cannot find traditional mojito mint. Spearmint is a bit stronger in aroma than conventional mint and holds up to the strength of the drink.
• Granulated sugar: Muddled with the oils and the moisture of the lime and the mint, dissolves and sweetens the drink.
• White rum: Any light or white rum is best, like blanco, silver, or white. It’s best to save your dark rum for ginger beer or rum balls recipes since the more intense flavor can be overpowering. Although of course in a pinch, a mojito made with dark rum will still taste great.
• Crushed ice: Crushed ice cools faster when liquid is stirred in, making it perfect for refreshing beverages in hot temperatures—larger ice cubes don't cool the drink quite as fast.
• Club soda: Adds bubbles and a bit of effervescence to make the drink really shine and sparkle.

What Is A Mojito?

The mojito is a combination of muddled mint, lime juice, sugar, light rum, and soda water. Like the cocktail itself, the origins of the mojito are a little—well—muddled.

At some point over the centuries, it was renamed the mojito, a derivation either from the word "mojo," a citrusy sauce developed in Cuba by enslaved people from Africa, or perhaps even "mojado," meaning "wet" in Spanish. The oldest surviving mention in print is in the 1932 edition of Sloppy Joe’s Bar Cocktail Manual, a book written by the historic Havana bar.

Competing theories claim competing origins, much like its name. Some theories say the mojito is evolved from a 16th-century drink called El Draque—named for Sir Francis Drake, who visited Havana in 1586. This early iteration was used for "medicinal purposes" and made with lime, mint, sugar, and aguardiente, a cane-spirit similar to rum. Another theory suggests it was invented at the famous Havana watering hole La Bodeguita del Medio. But it's more likely that the drink was popularized by Cuban farmers working the plantation fields, its concoction medicinal (although only the wealthy would have added ice and soda water).

Ernest Hemingway and other celebrities who visited Cuba over the decades are often credited with popularizing this now-classic cocktail in the U.S. In fact, many claim it was the writer's favorite cocktail, but this story is most likely just that—a story. (He did like the Hemingway Daiquiri however.)

How To Make a Mojito

Directions and measurements for making a mojito are below, but here's a run down of the essential steps:

• Step 1. Muddle: Add the lime wheels, mint leaves, and sugar to a highball glass (or another tall, slender glass). Using a cocktail muddler or the back of a wooden spoon, crush the ingredients to release the natural oils of the mint and the juice of the lime and combine them with the sugar granules.
• Step 2: Add rum, soda, and ice. Add the rum and enough crushed ice to fill the glass. (If your freezer makes crushed ice, you’re all set. Otherwise, add whole ice cubes to a plastic bag, and break the cubes up using the bottom of a skillet or can from your pantry.) Top with club soda or seltzer.
• Step 3. Garnish. For finishing touches, garnish your glass with the reserved lime wheel and a sprig of mint.