Mojito recipe
for your table
Add the sugar and lime juice to the glass. Stir until the sugar has dissolved.
Clap the mint leaves between your hands and press them gently into the glass. Don’t muddle them, or they’ll turn bitter.
Fill the glass with crushed ice, pour the rum over it and stir briefly.
Top with soda water, a little more ice and a generous sprig of mint.
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The story
The Mojito dates back to sixteenth-century Cuba. Sailors there drank a rough mix of aguardiente, lime and mint called the 'Draque', named after the privateer Francis Drake. The rum improved over time, and the drink lived on. Somewhere in Havana, it came to be called a Mojito, perhaps after 'mojo', a Cuban lime sauce. La Bodeguita del Medio in Havana claims to have created the modern version. There’s a signature by Hemingway on the wall, which was probably made up. Whatever the truth, the Mojito became Cuba’s calling card, and it still is.
The right glass
A Mojito has sugar, mint, ice, rum and bubbles layered on top of one another, so it needs room to rise. We choose a long drink glass of 36 to 55 cl. There’s room for all the layers of crushed ice, and you can muddle right in it. Look for a thick base so you can press down without worry. A lightly textured glass gives it a touch of an old Cuban bar. Find tall glasses with a sturdy base in our Mojito glasses.
Bormioli Rocco Diamond Long Drink Glass 47 cl (6 pieces)
Duralex Picardie Long Drink Glass 36 cl (6 pieces)
Both sets together € 40,90.
The right tools
For a Mojito, along with the glass, you’ll need a wooden muddler, a long bar spoon, a jigger for precise measuring, a citrus juicer and large ice cubes. These are the bar tools we use ourselves; you’ll find them all in our bar tools & cocktail sets. Want the complete setup? There’s also a 5-piece Mojito cocktail set.
Large cubes melt slowly, so your drink gets less watered down
Glass set (our choice 01) + 5 bar tools together € 95,70.
What do you need to make a Mojito?
Voor een Mojito heb je rum nodig. Bekende flessen zijn Captain Morgan en Borgoe. Op elke drankpagina lees je het percentage, hoe het smaakt, welke cocktails erbij passen en welk glas je nodig hebt.
Variations & twists
A Royal Mojito gets champagne instead of soda water. A Dirty Mojito gets a splash of dark rum that floats on top. Add strawberry or passion fruit to make fruity versions that are always a hit at a party. And as a Virgin Mojito, the recipe holds up just fine without rum, too. Want more? Take a look at our more than 100 cocktail recipes.
Serving tip
Serve it with a straw and a long bar spoon so everyone can stir the sugar up from the bottom. And handle the mint gently. Muddling releases its aroma; tearing it makes it bitter.
Good to know
Virgin Mojito without alcohol, 0.0
Simply leave out the 4.5 cl of white rum and you’ll be left with a refreshing but mostly sweet lemonade. It works better if you replace the rum. Use 4.5 cl of alcohol-free white rum, or 3 cl of cold green tea with half a teaspoon of lime zest. The tea gives you the slightly bitter edge you’d otherwise get from the rum. Keep the 3 cl of fresh lime juice and the two teaspoons of cane sugar, and muddle the mint just as you always do. If you want the full recipe, you’ll find the Virgin Mojito on our site as a recipe in its own right.
Strawberry Mojito and other fruity mojitos
Muddle three ripe strawberries with the cane sugar and lime juice, then add the mint. The rest of the recipe stays the same. Don’t add more strawberries. Too much pulp makes the drink cloudy and clogs your straw. Passion fruit works just as well; the pulp from half a fruit is enough. If you use raspberries or blackberries, strain the mixture before topping it up. Don’t add extra sugar, even if the fruit is tart. Fruit is naturally sweet.
Making mojitos for a group in a pitcher
For six glasses, add 27 cl of white rum, 18 cl of fresh lime juice, and twelve teaspoons of cane sugar to a one-and-a-half-liter pitcher. Stir until all the sugar has dissolved. Add fifty mint leaves, press them gently, and chill the pitcher for an hour. Then strain out the mint, or the drink will turn bitter. To serve, fill each glass with crushed ice, pour until it’s two-thirds full, and top with about 4 cl of soda water. Tuck a sprig of fresh mint loosely into each glass.
Pressing mint without crushing it
The mistake we see most often is muddling too hard. Mint oil is on the outside of the leaves and comes out as soon as you press gently. The bitter compounds are in the veins and are only released when you twist and wring the leaves. Place the leaves on the cane sugar and lime juice, press straight down two or three times, then stop. The sugar crystals help lightly grind the leaves. That’s why cane sugar works better than syrup here. See little black flecks in your glass? You’ve gone too far.
Mojito ingredients and which rum to use
What goes into a mojito, and what should you leave out? You need white rum, fresh lime juice, cane sugar, fresh mint, soda water, and crushed ice. At home, it’s often made as a Bacardi mojito, and Bacardi Carta Blanca works perfectly well for it. It’s a light white rum that lets the mint shine. For more body, choose a fuller-bodied white rum from Cuba or Puerto Rico. Measure everything with a jigger. Using 4.5 cl of rum to 3 cl of lime juice keeps it fresh; pour carelessly, and it quickly becomes too sour.
Making a mojito without crushed ice
How do you make a mojito when you don’t have crushed ice at home? Put regular ice cubes in a clean tea towel and hit them with a rolling pin until you have coarse chunks. They melt faster than whole cubes and dilute your mojito cocktail just enough. Be sure to fill the glass to the rim with ice. A half-full glass melts faster, making the drink watery. It’s best not to use ice chips that have stuck together in the freezer. Chill the glass beforehand so your drink stays fresh longer.
Frequently asked questions
What goes into a Mojito?
You’ll need 4.5 cl white rum, 3 cl fresh lime juice, 2 teaspoons of cane sugar, 8 to 10 fresh mint leaves, soda water, and crushed ice. First dissolve the sugar in the lime juice. Then gently press the mint. Crushing it makes the cocktail bitter.
How do I make the perfect Mojito?
First dissolve the cane sugar in the lime juice, then gently press the mint. Fill the glass with crushed ice, pour the rum over it, and finish with soda water and a generous sprig of mint. Use a tall glass with a thick base, so you can muddle the ingredients in it. Find one in our highball glasses.
How do I make an original Mojito?
In Cuba, it’s made with white rum, fresh lime juice, cane sugar, mint, and soda water. You build it in the glass; there’s no need for a shaker. Skip ready-made syrup and lime concentrate. Just clap the mint between your hands, as they do in Havana.
How do you make a non-alcoholic Mojito?
Leave out the rum and top it up with a little extra soda water or sparkling lime water. Everything else stays the same. With sugar, lime, mint, and plenty of crushed ice, it still tastes like a Mojito. Find the full recipe on our Virgin Mojito page.
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