Mojito
White rum, lime, mint, sugar, and a splash of soda. Cuba’s best-known export after cigars, and one of the most-ordered drinks on the planet for good reason.
About the Mojito
The Mojito is one of the few cocktails that genuinely lives up to the hype. Five simple ingredients — white rum, lime, sugar, mint, and soda water — come together in a drink that’s crisp, herbal, and dangerously easy to drink too quickly on a hot day.
Its exact origin is disputed, but most stories trace it back to 16th-century Havana, where a rough spirit called aguardiente was mixed with lime, sugar, and mint as a folk remedy — some versions of the story even credit Sir Francis Drake’s crew. The drink we’d recognise today took shape in Havana bars over the following centuries, with La Bodeguita del Medio in Old Havana often credited as its spiritual home.
What makes the Mojito different from most rum cocktails is the mint and the soda water. Where a Daiquiri is shaken and served short, the Mojito is built and lightly muddled directly in the glass, then topped up and served long over ice. It’s less about precision shaking and more about balance and freshness.
The Classic Recipe
Classic Mojito — Serves 1
- 50ml white rum
- 25ml fresh lime juice (roughly 1 large lime)
- 2 tsp white sugar, or 15ml simple syrup
- 8-10 fresh mint leaves, plus a sprig to garnish
- Soda water, to top up
- Crushed or cubed ice
Method
- Add the mint leaves, sugar, and lime juice to a highball glass. Muddle gently for a few seconds, just enough to release the mint oils without tearing the leaves apart.
- Pour in the white rum and stir briefly to help dissolve any sugar left at the bottom.
- Pack the glass with crushed or cubed ice.
- Top up with soda water and stir once, gently, to combine. Garnish with a mint sprig and a lime wheel, and serve with a straw.
Tips for the Best Mojito
- Bruise the mint, don’t shred it. Over-muddling releases bitter chlorophyll from torn leaves and turns the drink grassy. A gentle press and twist is all it needs.
- Use good soda water. Since it makes up a good portion of the drink, flat or low-quality soda water will leave the whole thing tasting thin. Top up just before serving so it stays fizzy.
- Crushed ice over cubed if you can manage it. It chills the drink faster and packs in tighter around the mint and rum, which is closer to how it’s served in Cuba.
- Build it in order. Mint and sugar first, then lime, then rum, then ice, then soda. Doing it out of order makes the sugar harder to dissolve and the mint harder to muddle evenly.
- Slap the garnish mint before adding it. A quick clap between your hands releases the aroma from the sprig on top, so you smell mint the moment you take a sip.
Popular Variations
Watermelon Mojito
Muddled watermelon added alongside the mint for a sweeter, fruitier summer version. See our watermelon cocktail guide for the full recipe.
Pineapple Mojito
Swaps some of the lime and sugar for muddled pineapple and a splash of pineapple juice. Featured in our pineapple cocktails roundup.
Strawberry Mojito
Fresh strawberries muddled in with the mint for a pink-tinged, berry-forward take. Works particularly well topped with a splash of soda rather than lemonade to keep it from turning too sweet.
Virgin Mojito
Drop the rum and top with extra soda water, or a dash of lime cordial, for an alcohol-free version that keeps all the mint and lime character intact.
How to Serve
Glass: A highball glass is the standard choice and gives the mint and ice room to sit properly through the drink.
Ice: Unlike the Daiquiri, the Mojito is served long over plenty of ice. Crushed ice is traditional and melts a little as you drink, gently diluting the mix as it warms.
Muddling tools: If you don’t have a proper cocktail muddler, the back of a wooden spoon works fine. For more on the technique, our guide to muddling cocktails covers the basics in more depth.
Related Database Entries
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