Tropical Mojito

Be careful not to muddle the mint or the lime wedges too hard, as they’ll impart a bitter flavor to the drink. Make sure the lime wedges sit on top of the mint leaves as you muddle, to prevent bruising them too much.

Note that whenever a recipe calls for mint, it refers to spearmint. It should taste and smell sweet. If it tastes like toothpaste, you're using peppermint.

The origin of the name Mojito isn’t entirely clear, but there’s a very good chance it is derived from Mojo. Mojo is a word that has its roots in African languages, and it is related to magic and medicine.

It could be that mojo in this context meant spell or cure, which would indicate that Mojito means “little spell” or “little cure”. 

Earlier recipes for the Mojito called it Mojo Criollo or Mojo Cubano, and there’s a likely connection between it and a medicinal drink that goes back to the 1500s (and maybe before that) called the Draque.

The Draque is named after Sir Francis Drake, and has the same ingredients as a Mojito, except it uses Aguardiente (cane spirit). The drink was used to treat fevers and colds, as Spearmint has a long history of being used for medicinal purposes.

The first recorded use of the cocktail under the name Mojito was in 1932’s menu for Sloppy Joe’s Bar in Havana, Cuba. Curiously, though, the Mojito appears twice in the menu, one made with rum and the other with gin.

The bar gained popularity during US Prohibition, as flocks of tourists made their way to Cuba.