Cocktail Craft I: The Mojito
Welcome to the Cocktailarium Leveling up Guide!
Throughout these lessons, you'll learn how to mix and prepare cocktails, discover new flavors and aromas, and gain a deeper understanding about spirits and liqueurs.
There's probably no better way to get started than to make your first cocktail. If you don't have any bartending tools yet, we will provide alternatives that you probably already have in your kitchen.
Before we start, always keep this in mind:
Let that be your maxim. It's the most important suggestion we can probably give you. The more precise you are when it comes to following a recipe, the better, and more consistent results it will yield. You will soon realize that measuring carefully will get you most of the way there. Eventually, you'll begin to experiment and bring your own spin into things, but even then, your precision will allow you to create consistent results.
With that out of the way, let's begin:
You may have had this cocktail before, which means you'll have a frame of reference for what the end result should taste like.
The Mojito is a very popular cocktail, but that doesn't mean it's always done well. You may have had one which skimped on the rum, or maybe it used sour mix. We encourage you to compare what you make here with what you've had in the past – it was an eye opener for some of us, and maybe it'll be the same for you too!
Getting Ready
Let's review what tools and ingredients you'll need:
Ingredients:
- White rum
- 1 fresh medium-sized lime: You want a lime that feels soft and juicy. If it feels hard like a golf-ball it won't work
- Fresh Mint (Spearmint): You'll need 10-12 medium-sized leaves and a mint sprig for garnish
- Sugar: Any type of granulated sugar will do. Don't use powdered sugar, nor beet sugar
- Club soda, with no added flavors
- Ice
When it comes to the rum, stick to your budget, but try to reach for something better than the cheapest option. The quality of rum will correlate to the quality of your cocktail. Also note that this recipe calls for white rum, specifically. While other types of rum would also work here, we wouldn't be making a traditional Mojito.
Our suggestions:
- Flor de Caña Extra Dry 4 year
- Plantation 3 Stars
- Havana Club 3 year
Do you have any Bartender Tools (a jigger, a muddler, and a barspoon)?
Great! Go grab a knife, a tablespoon and a glass.
Make sure you know your jigger measurements. Some jiggers have marks that tell you how much liquid they hold, some don't. If yours doesn't, simply take a tablespoon and measure it using water.
We'll build this drink in the glass: Start by placing 10-12 mint leaves in your hand and clapping once.
Add the leaves to the glass.
Add a tablespoon of sugar.
White sugar will provide sweetness which will enhance the flavor of the other ingredients.
Demerara or Brown sugar will do the same but it will also add a bit of caramel flavor to this drink.
Take your barspoon and stir the leaves and the sugar up and down the glass.
Do this for about 30 seconds, being careful not to muddle or tear the leaves apart.
Take a lime and cut it in half. Take the half and cut it in quarters. Add these quarters to the glass.
Take your muddler and push down on the limes 3 or 4 times to release the juice.
Be careful not to press too hard: When we press, the lime peel will release essential oils.
A little of those oils is good, a lot will make the drink taste bitter.
This also applies to the mint leaves.
Add 60ml / 2oz of rum.
Add ice up to about ¾ of the way up the glass, and stir until the drink is chilled.
Top with soda water and give a quick stir.
Depending on the size of the glass you used, it may take more soda to top it off, but we don't want to dilute the drink. At most, add 60ml / 2oz of club soda.
Garnish your cocktail: Grab a sprig of mint in your hand and gently clap once.
Place the mint sprig so it sits on the top of the glass.
Add a straw right next to the mint sprig.
No problem! Here's what you'll need:
- Something to stir: A metal or glass straw, or a chopstick
- Something to muddle: A pestle, or a straight-sided rolling pin
- Something to measure: A tablespoon
- A knife and a glass
We'll build this drink in the glass: Start by placing 10-12 mint leaves in your hand and clapping once.
Add the leaves to the glass.
Add a tablespoon of sugar.
White sugar will provide sweetness which will enhance the flavor of the other ingredients.
Demerara or Brown sugar will do the same but it will also add a bit of caramel flavor to this drink.
Take your stirring tool and stir the leaves and the sugar up and down the glass.
Do this for about 30 seconds, being careful not to muddle or tear the leaves apart.
Take a lime and cut it in half. Take the half and cut it in quarters. Add these quarters to the glass.
Take your muddling tool and push down on the limes 3 or 4 times to release the juice.
Be careful not to press too hard: When we press, the lime peel will release essential oils.
A little of those oils is good, a lot will make the drink taste bitter.
This also applies to the mint leaves.
Add 4 tablespoons of rum.
Add ice up to about ¾ of the way up the glass, and stir until the drink is chilled.
Top with soda water and give a quick stir.
Depending on the size of the glass you used, it may take more soda to top it off, but we don't want to dilute the drink. At most, add 4 tablespoons of club soda.
Garnish your cocktail: Grab a sprig of mint in your hand and gently clap once.
Place the mint sprig so it sits on the top of the glass.
Add a straw right next to the mint sprig.
Congratulations, you made your first cocktail!
Taste your cocktail and see how you like it. Hopefully it's everything you wanted it to be - you're ready for the next lesson!
If something tastes off, no worries!