Course: Drinks
Cuisine: Cuban, Puerto Rican/Hispanic
Keyword: cocktail, mojito, rum
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes minutes
Servings: 2
Calories: 112kcal
Use fresh mint and lime juice to create this bright, crisp cocktail.
Print Recipe
- 1 tablespoon (15 grams) turbinado sugar
- 12 (or 1 bushy sprig) mint leaves
- 1/4 cup (2 ounces or 60 milliliters) white rum
- 1/3 cup (3 ounces or 85 milliliters) lime juice
- lemon-lime soda or soda water, to float
Optional Garnishes
- mint sprigs
- lime wedges or slices
Muddle the Mint Leaves with the Rum and Sugar
Shake the Mojitos Vigorously
Add a cup of ice to the cocktail shaker, followed by rum and lime juice. Shake the cocktail shaker vigorously until the shaker frosts over.
Pour and Enjoy
Fill two highball glasses with ice and strain the mojito base into the glasses. Pour the lemon-lime soda to top it. Leave a 1/4" headspace so you can stir the cocktail. Garnish your cocktails with fresh mint and/or lime wheels. Serve immediately and enjoy responsibly.
Swaps and Substitutions:
- You can use granulated sugar instead if you don't have turbinado sugar.
- Mimic the mint flavor with peppermint extract or omit it altogether if you don't have fresh mint leaves.
- Use a dash or two of mint bitters or replace the mint with a different herb, like fresh basil, rosemary, or cilantro.
- Swap the light rum for an amber rum like Ron del Barrilito for a mojito with a more prominent flavor of rum.
- Replace lemon-lime soda with soda water, seltzer, tonic water, or grapefruit soda.
- You can swap the lime juice in your mojitos for lemon juice or pineapple juice.
- To create a coconut mojito, add 2 tablespoons of coconut milk to each glass after you strain the rum mixture into them.
Tips and Techniques:
- Regular spearmint or apple mint leaves are the best variety to use in mojito recipes. Peppermint is the next best option.
- You can muddle mint with a honey dipper, a tart press, a pestle, or- as a last resort- a handle of a sturdy wooden spoon if you don't own a muddler.
- For the best mojitos, avoid using bottled lime juice if you can. If it's unavoidable, choose a high-quality product with as few sulfites or preservatives as possible.
- To make virgin Puerto Rican Mojitos just use soda water in place of the rum.
Pitcher Mojitos (Serves 8):
- 1/4 cup turbinado sugar
- 3 bunches fresh mint leaves
- 1 cup white rum
- 1 1/2 cups lime juice
- 1/2 liter lemon-lime soda
Muddle or pulse the mint and sugar in a blender. Mix with the rum and lime juice and strain into a pitcher. Serve over ice and float the soda as desired.
Calories: 112kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 0.4g | Fat: 0.1g | Saturated Fat: 0.02g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.04g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 3mg | Potassium: 83mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 275IU | Vitamin C: 14mg | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 0.4mg