Let’s talk about another awesome cocktail named a mojito. Just like a refreshing margarita people like to have a mojito too. These drinks allow us to relax a little on a very busy day. We often like to have it on a beautifully sunny day or on a chilly afternoon in winter.
When we listen to the word mojito, only one refreshing flavour of mint comes to our imagination. Mojito is a very old traditional alcoholic drink in Cuba. It was first invented there and since then it has gained a lot of popularity.
To make a mojito, we majorly need rum; to be more specific, we would need white rum. Along with this, we would also need some freshly squeezed lime, a few mint leaves, and some soda water.
Most of us know enough about a mojito but still, a lot of people struggle to know about that. In this article, we will try to try to cover all aspects of a mojito, how to make, how to serve, etc. We can have this drink in any restaurant, cafe, or bar. But now it is also possible to make it at home with some guidance.
Today, a mojito is typically served in a highball glass or a tall glass to ensure the proper presentation and enjoyment of the drink. If someone asks how it used to be served traditionally, then I would say it used to be served in a highball glass, not a long, thin, tall glass. It has some muddled, or we should say squashed limes and mint leaves in it. Although it is an alcoholic drink, we can also prepare it without any alcohol in it. Let’s dig deep into this matter.
1. A Traditional Mojito
In this particular section of the article, we will briefly talk about how a mojito is being made. To make it perfectly refreshing and fresh, we would need the white rum, some lime juice (fresh or store-bought), some freshly picked mint leaves, some sugar (according to your preference), and some club soda or any soda you would like to add.
To start the process, we would need tall clear glass like a highball glass or Collins glass. When choosing a glass, make sure the glass is 14-16 ounces because this drink is more in volume. A Collins glass is the traditional glass to use. Take a cocktail shaker and add some white rum in it, approximately 2 to 3 shots, then add fresh lime along with some sugar.
Carefully close the lid of the shaker and shake it for 10-20 seconds. After that, pour the drink into the glass along with some club soda and savor the test. There is another way to do it better way. We need to cut 3 or 4 limes, squeeze some, and leave some for later. Take some mint leaves, too, and if you can, then take some from your garden. The fresher, the better.
You can take normal sugar or some diluted sugar. Simple syrup is a recommended ingredient for Mojitos to achieve the desired level of sweetness and balance in the drink. Take a tall glass, and put a few limes in with some mint and sugar in it. Then squash or muddle the ingredients in the glass and add the rum in it with some soda (of your preference). Stir it with a cocktail spoon, add some ice cubes, and enjoy the drink.
2. Squashing Or Muddling
If we are here to talk about cocktails, we should probably discuss about muddling. It basically means to smush the limes or fruits in a drink. This process always helps to intensify the natural flavours of the fruits. Bartenders use this technique to make many different kinds of drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic.
In the process of making a mojito, we usually use limes with some mint. The bartenders use this technique to muddle the lime with mint leaves and sugar to enhance the natural flavors. We can use some kind of fruit too. We just need to squash the fruits along with the lime and mint.
People can use this technique to make many different mocktails too. One can use it to squash the fruits being used in the making of a mocktail. Anyone can do it at home too, instead of using the muddler we can use anything like a spoon or anything else.
3. The Glass To Serve A Mojito
If we talk about how a mojito used to be served in the old times, it would be served in various types of glasses, including highball glasses and pitchers. This drink has 12 to 14 oz of liquid, so it needs a bigger glass. People often like to have a mojito on a sunny day on a beach, so some ice is necessary to keep it cold in the summer. To carry more liquid and ice, it’s better to use longer glasses.
One might say why not use wider glass instead of long glass, it is to slow down the process of melting. The longer the ice maintains its state the longer it tastes refreshing. Although we are free to use a margarita glass Collins glass is always the best choice.
In the case of a short glass, we would need to use less rum in volume because you can’t deduct the volume of soda in it. Rum is a pretty strong alcohol that’s why you need to dilute it with club soda or any other soda that you think is the best for you.
The longer glass also has another advantage of it. You can easily muddle all the ingredients in this kind of glass. It can also carry a lot of ice in it, which might be loved by a lot of people around the globe.
4. Which Rum Should We Use
As most of us know, a mojito is always served in a clear glass. Most of the time, it is the long glass that is used to serve it, but some places serve it in a short glass. To make it look better and easily merge it with all the other ingredients, white rum is always better.
Please avoid using rum of any flavor because it can interfere with the natural flavor of the fresh lime and mint. If you to make it taste similar the to drink prepared by a professional please follow the guidelines given in this article.
5. Which Ingredients Should We Use
When it comes to the ingredients you should always use fresh ingredients. Fresh ingredients always have better flavour and fragrance in them. Let’s first talk about lime. It is better to use fresh limes. By fresh, I don’t mean freshly picked with your own hands but to use the freshly bought ones. The lime juice that is available on the market has chemicals and preservatives in it. This allows it to stay usable for a longer period of time.
This is about the mint leaves. In this case, we can say that if you want to use the freshest leaves, then grow some mint in your garden and use it. The one we buy from the market is not very fresh, which can be the reason your drink might not smell fresh.
Now, let’s talk about sugar. Many places use simple syrup as a sweetener in their drink to balance all the flavors. The recommended sweeteners for mojitos are sugar syrup or fine sugar to ensure proper sweetness and prevent undissolved sugar from settling at the bottom of the glass. But the simple syrup can change the flavor of the drink for no good. It is always better to use the normal sugar available to us, but it can be hard to melt in cold drinks.
6. A Few Recipes To Make A Mojito
In this section of the article, let’s discuss some fun new recipes for making a mojito.
6.1. A Traditional Mojito
To make a mojito by using the traditional recipe, we would need fresh lime, sugar (of any kind), some mint leaves, ice cubes, white wine (of your preference), and some soda. First, take a tall glass and put some mint and lime in it with some sugar. Gently muddle everything together. For the next step, we need to put lime juice and rum in the glass. Then, slightly add soda and ice cubes to the glass and stir it with a metal cocktail spoon or wooden spoon. Now you can enjoy your drink in peace.
6.2. Frozen Mojito
Some people who like to have a lot of ice in their drinks also like to have a frozen mojito. It has gained more popularity now. Many people really like to have frozen mojito on a sunny day to cool off. To make this, you will need a bowl or some glass similar to that in which a spoon can easily dive. Then you need to add the rum, lime juice, sugar, soda, and mint together in the bowl and mix it carefully. After that, put the bowl in the freezer to freeze for a few hours. Now, all you left to do is to enjoy the drink you made.
6.3. Fruit Mojito
For this recipe, you need some juice and ice. There are two ways to make it this way. In the first method, you need to have juice from any fruit, like berries or citrus fruit. Add the mixer of lime, sugar, mint, and rum to the glass, along with some squashed pieces of fruit and lime in it, and serve.
For the second method, you need a lot of ice. Add lime, mint, sugar, rum, and fruit-like berries to the blender. Also, add a lot of ice to the blender. Blend everything until the ice crushes completely. Pour the mixture into the glass and enjoy. You can also garnish it with some pieces of fresh fruit. Your fruit mojito is ready to serve.
6.4. Non-Alcoholic Mojito
Some people prefer non-alcoholic drinks over alcoholic ones. The reason for this can be anything like health conscious, some issues, or just personal preferences. To prepare a drink like this we might need anything but not alcohol (of any kind). Take a glass, and squash some lime with mint leaves and sugar in it. One can use a muddler or just a strong spoon to do it. After all this simply add some soda in the glass. Now stir and enjoy.
If you don’t like soda in their drink, you can replace it with sparkling water. Just keep in mind that sparkling water should not have any strong flavour in it to prevent the best taste of the drink.
7. Final Note
We discussed the very famous and refreshing drink mojito. This drink was in the inventory in Cuba. Today this particular cocktail along with a few more cocktails has gained its place in the liquor market of the world. The main ingredients of a great mojito are freshly squeezed lime, mint, sugar granules, rum, and soda.
It is really important to use white rum instead of any flavored one. This really helps the rum blend perfectly with all the other ingredients. This drink is mostly served in a long clear glass. However, one can use any type of glass according to one’s own preferences and availability.
We also discussed a very special technique of muddling or squashing. In this, a professional uses a muddler to smush the lime, mint, and fruits in it. If we are making it at home, we can simply use any spoon or utensil.
We also suggested some very interesting recipes for making a mojito with everyone. If someone asks whether a mojito can get us drunk or not, the answer will always be yes. Rum is a very strong alcohol, and it has a high alcohol content, which can easily get us drunk. Before enjoying any drink, keep in mind that a lot of factors affect this thing, like our sex, weight, height, alcohol tolerance, etc.
Always try to use the freshest ingredients if you want your tongue to feel the freshness of it. One can also grow some mint in their garden if they can to get the freshest mint leaves. Everyone can make this magical drink in no time.
Last Updated on by Sathi