Lime. Ice. Sugar. Summer.
These are precisely the ingredients which make summer magical. But, add just a few more simple ingredients (like mint leaves and rum!), and you've created the foundation to Cuba's most popular cocktail. The mojito. So delicious during this time of the year.
Millions worldwide enjoy the mojito on hot summer days.
It's true. Cuba's cocktail is a worldwide favorite, according to former bartender and journalist Israel Melendez Ayala, who notes that, “in May 2020, there were over 5 million mentions of the cocktail on Instagram from Spain.”
Did you know?
National Mojito Day is celebrated on July 11 of each year.
The mojito was named the most popular cocktail in Britain back in 2014, according to an article celebrating the drink in the DailyMail.com.
Mojitos Muddled Past
According to historians, the mojito could be a variation of the word 'mojo,' a sour citrus cooking marinade from Cuba, or the word 'mojado,' the Spanish word for 'wet.'
It’s believed to have originated in Cuba during the 16th century. Initially known as "El Draque," named after English explorer and privateer Sir Francis Drake, the original version was made with aguardiente (a precursor to rum), sugar, lime, and mint. This concoction was used as a remedy for various illnesses, including dysentery.
"... The concoction was originally drunk among farmers from the plantations to deal with their illnesses, mainly produced by the hard labor they endured," Melendez Ayala explains in his Whetstone magazine article "The Mojito, History is Muddled."
Yet, it wasn’t until the Prohibition era, – when alcohol was banned in the United States, from 1920 to 1933 under the Eighteenth Amendment – that expats visiting Cuba discovered the drinks at the nightclubs.
"Havana, Cuba, had become the American hotspot for a cocktail experience, attracting people from the United States who weren’t going to let the government affect their party lifestyle. It was during that time that the classic Cuban drink began to gain a lot of popularity among Americans," Melendez Ayala writes.
Others say the drink truly became an international hit when American Author Ernest Hemingway, who lived in Cuba and Florida, is said to have enjoyed the Cuban cocktail, saying “Mi mojito en La Bodeguita, mi daiquiri en El Floridita."
Perhaps the real “mojito mania,” as Eater magazine calls it, reached its peak thanks to international spy Bond, James Bond, in the film Die Another Day in 2002. "In a scene set in a Havana beach bar ( ... actually filmed in Spain)," Eater magazine explains in its article “Cuba’s Finest Export: The Mojito,” Actress Halle Barry “rises out of the water in her orange bathing suit and walks toward Pierce Brosnan. He’s sipping a mojito. He hands her the glass and says, 'Mojito? You should try it.' With those words, Americans around the country learned of the old Cuban drink."
Today, the drink is one of the top 5 cocktails in the world, as reported across the web. And who are we to argue with global libation research?
Now, we invite you to discover why the mojito is "Cuba's best export" with our original mojito recipe (Cuban-American-approved).
We’ve added a refreshing “virgin mojito” recipe, a Lime Smoothie, is included for your drinking pleasure as well. Just in case you’re short on rum.
Nuestro Stories Mojito Recipe
Ingredients
10 Mint Leaves
2 Tablespoons lime juice, freshly squeezed
1 Cup ice cubes
2 ounces Bacardi Superior Rum
6 Ounces Sierra Mist (or Sprite)
1 Lime Wedge, for garnish (optional)
1 Sprig Mint, for garnish (optional)
1 Stick of sugar cane, for garnish (optional)
Place mint leaves and pour juice into a tall glass.
Use a muddler to crush the mint into the lime juice to release the mint oils. Fill the glass with ice. Pour the rum over the ice, and fill the glass with Sierra Mist.
Garnish with lime wedge, and mint sprig, if desired. And sugar cane (if available).
Virgin-Mojito-Turned-Lime-Smoothie Recipe
Light, fresh and a little bit frothy, this smoothie has a unique texture that may leave you wishing for a second cup the moment you take your first sip. Find more fun summer recipes at Culinary.net.
Tart Lime Smoothie
Yield: 1 1/2 cups
Ingredients
2 kiwis, peeled and halved
2 ripe bananas
3 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
2 limes, juice only
1 cup orange juice
2 cups ice, crushed
Directions
In a blender, blend kiwis, bananas, mint, lime juice, orange juice and ice until smooth. Pour into glasses to serve.
If you made this recipe at home, use #MyCulinaryConnection to share your work with foodie enthusiasts!
When Sofia Jones is not interviewing Latinx stars for her iHeartRadio podcast, she can be found fostering (and cuddling with) cute small dogs in Miami for a South Florida animal rescue nonprofit.
