Classic Mojito
Cuba's most famous highball: white rum, fresh lime, mint, sugar, and a splash of soda over plenty of ice. Pressing the mint gently with sugar and lime juice releases its cooling oils without tearing the leaves into bitterness, so every sip tastes bright and clean rather than grassy. It takes ten minutes, no cooking, and rewards you with a drink that is fizzy, tart, and just sweet enough.
For two mojitos, drop 8 mint leaves, 8 g (2 tsp) sugar, and 30 ml (1 oz) fresh lime juice into each of two sturdy highball glasses, then press the mint gently with a muddler 4-5 times — just enough to bruise the leaves and dissolve most of the sugar, never enough to shred them. Stir for about a minute until you no longer feel sugar grit, add 60 ml (2 oz) white rum to each glass, fill to the top with crushed ice or small cubes, stir to lift the mint through the drink, then top each with 90 ml (about 6 tbsp) chilled club soda. Give one lazy stir, garnish with a smacked mint sprig and a lime wheel, and drink it cold and fresh.
- Press the mint, don't pulverize it — torn leaves release chlorophyll and turn the drink bitter and murky.
- Dissolve the sugar in the lime juice before the ice goes in; granules won't dissolve once the drink is cold.
- Add soda last and stir only once so the bubbles survive to the table.
Equipment
- 2 sturdy highball or Collins glasses (300-350 ml / 10-12 oz)
- Muddler (or the handle of a wooden spoon)
- Citrus juicer or reamer
- Jigger or measuring spoons
- Bar spoon or long-handled teaspoon
Malzemeler
Mojito
- fresh mint leaves, spearmint if you can find it; leaves picked from the stems
- 16 g granulated sugar, or 30 ml (1 oz) simple syrup
- 60 ml fresh lime juice, from about 2 juicy limes; do not use bottled
- 120 ml white rum, a light Cuban-style rum such as a 3-year aged white
- 180 ml chilled club soda, straight from the fridge so it stays fizzy
- 300 g crushed ice or small ice cubes
Garnish
- mint sprigs, the pretty tops of the bunch
- lime wheels or wedges
Yapılışı
- ADIM01
Put two sturdy highball glasses in the freezer while you work. Rinse the mint, pat it dry, and pick 16 unblemished leaves off the stems, setting aside the two best sprigs for garnish. Dry leaves muddle cleanly; wet ones slide around the glass.
- ADIM02
Roll 2 limes firmly on the counter to loosen the juice, halve them, and squeeze until you have 60 ml (1/4 cup). Cut two thin wheels for garnish before you juice if you like a tidy look.
- ADIM03
Divide the mint leaves, sugar, and lime juice between the two glasses (8 leaves, 2 tsp sugar, and 30 ml juice each). Press down on the mint with a muddler and give it a gentle quarter-turn, 4 to 5 times per glass. You want bruised, fragrant leaves that are still whole — if the mint looks like pesto, you went too far.
- ADIM04
Stir each glass with a bar spoon until you no longer hear or feel sugar grit against the bottom, about 1 minute. This is the step most people skip; undissolved sugar leaves the first sips sour and the last sip syrupy.
- ADIM05
Pour 60 ml (2 oz) white rum into each glass, then fill the glasses to the rim with crushed ice or small cubes. Stir 10 seconds with the bar spoon, lifting from the bottom so the mint distributes through the drink instead of sitting in a clump.
- ADIM06
Pour 90 ml (about 6 tbsp) chilled club soda down the inside of each glass. Give one slow stir — no more, or you will knock the fizz out.
- ADIM07
Smack a mint sprig once between your palms to wake up its aroma and stand it in the ice next to a lime wheel. Add a straw if you like, and serve immediately while the glass is frosty.
Make ahead
Up to 4 hours ahead, muddle the mint, sugar, and lime juice, stir in the rum, and refrigerate this base in a covered jar (the rum keeps the mint from browning badly). At serving time, strain or pour it over ice and top with cold soda. Simple syrup, if you prefer it to sugar, keeps for 2 weeks in the fridge.
Storage
Mojitos do not store — the soda goes flat and the mint darkens within an hour. If you have leftovers, strain out the mint and ice, refrigerate the liquid in a sealed jar for up to 1 day, then pour it over fresh ice with a fresh splash of soda and new mint.
Variations
Virgin Mojito (Nojito)
Skip the rum and double the club soda to 180 ml (3/4 cup) per glass, or use 120 ml soda plus 60 ml chilled white grape juice for more body. Everything else stays the same — it is a genuinely refreshing alcohol-free drink, not an afterthought.
Pitcher Mojito
For 8 drinks, muddle 60 g (about 2 cups loosely packed) mint leaves with 65 g (1/3 cup) sugar and 240 ml (1 cup) lime juice in the bottom of a pitcher, stir until dissolved, add 480 ml (2 cups) white rum, and chill up to 4 hours. Pour over ice-filled glasses and top each with soda individually so nothing goes flat.
Strawberry Mojito
Muddle 2 hulled, quartered strawberries per glass along with the mint and sugar. The berries add color and a jammy sweetness, so cut the sugar back to 1.5 tsp per drink and taste before topping with soda.
Serve with
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition values are estimates based on the metric measurements. Adjust as needed.
Sık sorulanlar
What rum should I use for a classic mojito?
A light, dry white rum is traditional — Cuban-style 3-year aged white rums are ideal because they have enough character to stand up to lime without overpowering the mint. Avoid dark or spiced rums here; their caramel and vanilla notes fight the drink's clean, cooling profile. If you only have gold rum, it works, but the drink will taste rounder and less crisp.
Why does my mojito taste bitter or grassy?
Almost always over-muddling. Many mojito recipes say to 'muddle well,' but shredding the leaves ruptures them completely and releases bitter chlorophyll along with the good mint oils. Press gently 4-5 times with a slight twist — the leaves should look bruised and smell strongly of mint but remain whole. Stripping leaves off the stems also helps, since the stems carry more bitterness than the leaves.
Can I use simple syrup instead of granulated sugar?
Yes, and it is arguably easier: swap the 4 tsp sugar for 30 ml (1 oz) of 1:1 simple syrup and skip the dissolving step. Granulated sugar is the traditional Cuban approach and its grit actually helps abrade the mint while muddling, but syrup guarantees no sugar sits undissolved at the bottom of a cold glass. Taste and adjust — limes vary a lot in tartness.
How do I scale this for a party?
Batch everything except the soda and ice. The pitcher method in the variations section follows the same ratio most reliable mojito recipes converge on — roughly 2 parts rum, 1 part lime juice, and about 2 teaspoons of sugar per drink — muddled once in the pitcher rather than glass by glass. Keep the base refrigerated, then pour over ice and top each glass with cold soda to order so every drink is fizzy.
Is crushed ice really necessary?
It is not mandatory, but it is better. Crushed ice chills the drink faster, dilutes it slightly to soften the raw rum edge, and holds the muddled mint suspended through the glass instead of letting it float in a mat on top. If you only have large cubes, give them a few whacks in a zip-top bag with a rolling pin, or just stir a few extra seconds before adding the soda.
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