Classic Mojito

The mojito is older than Cuba itself. Spanish colonizers drank a crude version called El Draque in the sixteenth century, named for Sir Francis Drake, made with aguardiente, lime, sugarcane, and mint. It was medicine then, prescribed for dysentery and scurvy. Somewhere along the way, it became pleasure.

The modern mojito emerged from Havana's bar culture in the early twentieth century, perfected by bartenders who understood that balance is everything. Too much sugar and you have candy. Too much lime and your face puckers. Too much mint and the rum disappears. The proportions I give you here are canonical, the same ratios poured at La Bodeguita del Medio where Hemingway allegedly left his famous endorsement on the wall.

The technique matters more than most people realize. I have watched countless bartenders destroy mint by grinding it to a paste, releasing bitter chlorophyll that ruins the drink. The muddling should be gentle. Coaxing, not punishing. You are asking the mint to share its oils, not beating a confession from it.