Anyone have a good Mojito recipe?

[XeF4]

Originally Posted by fcuknu

I think shaking a mojito brings too much air into the drink. Not to mention you really beat up the mint and lime. I take mine rolled.
I'll admit they do turn into green clumps in your drink, but even a pristine mint leaf turns to seaweed in a matter of minutes in a drink. if you have a strainer, you can strain the drink and put it over ice and do away with the mint leaves in the drink. I think some people like to see the craftsmanship in their drink though. I have never noticed a change in flavor of the mint in a mojito due to shaking vs rolling, although shaking yeilds a more diluted drink.

 

[whodini]

Originally Posted by scarphe

el dorado produces one which i think is available in the us, for you i know they sell el dorado in panama but i ma not sure if they sell the blanco. and i am pretty confiedent that flor de caña produces a 4 year old white
Never heard of El Dorado. I'll have to check that out, thanks for the tip.

Flor does sell a fantastic white, honestly it's probably the best I've ever tried. The problem, though, is that it's "aged" in steel casks whereas the 3 year-old Havana is aged in oak so it's not technically a "silver" but still considered a white rum.

Note the difference between the añejo (3 year) and the blanco:

Originally Posted by FLMountainMan

My friends and I racked up a serious bar tab drinking mojitos from 4pm till 2:00 in Key West one day.
I tried to stay away from those places when I went a few months ago. Drinks were dirt cheap over at bar next to Mallory Sq. although the servings were a bit Bourbon-St-During-Spring-Break-esque. Definitely quantity over quality.

 

[Kas]

Don't muddle the mint together with the sugar/syrup and lime - you will get all these small mint parts that are stuck to customers' teeth, not a pretty sight. Instead, put a handful of mint in your fist and hit it against your other open hand a few times - this in additon to the stirring will sufficiently bruise the mint.

My recipe:

-Put limes and sugarcane in a large solid glass and muddle
-Bruise mint with your fist and add to glass
-Add crushed ice to fill half the glass and 5cl of rum and stir, especially the bottom to make sure the sugarcane on the bottom is mixed as well. If you don't do that, it's a hell to clean up afterwards (in a busy bar) and placing the straw on the sugar while drinking gives too sweet a taste
-Add crushed ice to fill the glass, and soda to top off

I think shaking this drink is silly.

 

[scarphe]

Originally Posted by whodini

Never heard of El Dorado. I'll have to check that out, thanks for the tip.

Flor does sell a fantastic white, honestly it's probably the best I've ever tried. The problem, though, is that it's "aged" in steel casks whereas the 3 year-old Havana is aged in oak so it's not technically a "silver" but still considered a white rum.

Note the difference between the añejo (3 year) and the blanco:

i rarly drink havana club, i prefer other rums. but the el dorado 3 year old is aged in oak, different than the line´s standrd white.

 

[Grayland]

I'm a chef and I always try to seek consistency (even in drinks). I make a mint simple syrup. I boil the water and add the leaves and allow to steep 1/2 hour (in effect making a mint tea). I then use that mint tea as the water in the simple syrup. If I'm really trying to save time, I'll add the lime juice to the mint simple syrup and use that as my mix. Fill a glass with ice, add a shot of rum, add mint syrup/lime mixture and top with club soda.

This way, I skip the muddling step when making the individual drinks. Muddling isn't difficult, but mojitas are very popular at get togethers and I don't want to be muddling the whole damn night. I make the drink and then garnish with a nice mint sprig. As a bartender, the whole muddling thing looks cool and gets you more $ for the drink and perhaps even a better tip, but I'm not a bartender.

I've yet to meet any lady who doesn't like a mojito. Hell, I love em too.

 

[amnesiac]

Grayland beat me to it, I make a mint simple syrup and maybe add a little more mint lightly bruised just to have some green in the glass. The worst is when there is shredded mint in my drink.

I also second the crushed ice, or even better the cubed ice they have at Sonic fast food places.

I've been making mine all summer with Matusalem rum.

My friend told me the other day that Hemmingway apparently liked Mojitos.

and i'll also endorse mint juleps. I made a huge pitcher with Bulleit the other day with some friends for an afternoon of sitting on the back porch. Seersucker was involved.

 

[Stazy]

Why hasn't Huntsman chimed in yet? He's a cocktail genius. lol.

Originally Posted by amerikajinda

Do not order a mojito when there is a line at the bar. Your bartender is probably not going to put a lot of love into it. In fact, you might get just the opposite.

A bartender in Italy started yelling at me for ordering a mojito when it was busy. I still made him make me one.

Originally Posted by amerikajinda

Do not order a mojito at a dance club, sports bar, drink stand, airport bar, OTB saloon, chain restaurant or fraternity house. You're just going to end up being disappointed.

+1. Most likely going to get a pre-made mojito mix which are dreadful.

 

[whodini]

Originally Posted by amnesiac

My friend told me the other day that Hemmingway apparently liked Mojitos.
"My Daiquiri at El Floridita, my Mojito at La Bodeguita," is the quote most attributed to Hemmingway. La Bodeguita is smaller and grimier than El Floridita but it tends to be much busier as it's closer to the "center" of old Havana and La Plaza de Armas. I spent a few days and more of my vacation dollars than I'd care to remember sitting at the bar studying how the bartenders made each drink to a very fine grade of consistency regardless if it was just one or ten.

Here are some photos:

I'm not going to say that this is the birthplace of the mojito and yes, to an extent it is a bit of an overpriced tourist trap, but of all the mojitos I've had both in and out of Cuba La BdM had the best and most consistent by far. People are free to make their drinks however best suits them but I can't say I saw too many Cubans using cane sugar syrup, sugar cane sticks, mint extracts, etc. I prefer the far simpler version of la bdm.

 

[DNW]

Originally Posted by whodini

"My Daiquiri at El Floridita, my Mojito at La Bodeguita," is the quote most attributed to Hemmingway. La Bodeguita is smaller and grimier than El Floridita but it tends to be much busier as it's closer to the "center" of old Havana and La Plaza de Armas. I spent a few days and more of my vacation dollars than I'd care to remember sitting at the bar studying how the bartenders made each drink to a very fine grade of consistency regardless if it was just one or ten.

Here are some photos:

I'm not going to say that this is the birthplace of the mojito and yes, to an extent it is a bit of an overpriced tourist trap, but of all the mojitos I've had both in and out of Cuba La BdM had the best and most consistent by far. People are free to make their drinks however best suits them but I can't say I saw too many Cubans using cane sugar syrup, sugar cane sticks, mint extracts, etc. I prefer the far simpler version of la bdm.

Speaking of which, I've been meaning to pick up a couple Guayabera shirts for the summer.

 

[whodini]

Mexican or Filipino-made is the best way to go.

 

[Rambo]

Originally Posted by whodini

It doesn't look like they do much in the way of muddling there. Interesting. +1 on simplicity. Sugar, mint, lime, rum, club soda, and that's it. If it involves more than 3 steps, you should have been drinking already.

 

[whodini]

The ingredients are muddled for...5-10 secs?

 

[King Francis]

I do a few things with my mojitos that, while not out of left field, are not de rigeur. I err on the citrusy side, because I love lime; I leave the mint on the stem, because the oil exuded by the stem upon muddling adds to the drink; I use crushed ice, not only because it makes the drink colder but because it acts as a filter to prevent pieces of mint from floating free; and I use cane sugar instead of simple syrup.

Obviously simple syrup can make for a great mojito. But cane sugar is my personal preference. I like the way it acts as an abrasive during muddling, a fact mentioned by the admirable Chris Doig here. He does a time-intensive English version of the mojito which is close to my own, including the way he adds half the rum, fills the glass with crushed ice, then adds the rest of the rum. The video is worth watching even if you favor a different recipe.

It's a labor of love, but that's fine with me. I'm not a Cuban bartender who has to save time while serving impatient tourists. I don't make mojitos for anyone other than myself, a few close family members and friends, and one pretty girl at a time.

 

[whodini]

You know what I'm listening to right now?

Silence.

 

[DNW]

Originally Posted by whodini

You know what I'm listening to right now?

Silence.

Are you drank on the mojitos?