Mojito
In a tall glass : Crush some fresh mint. Add the juice of half a lime and one spoonful of sugar. Add 50 ml of Havana Club Añejo 3 Años and two or three ice cubes. Top with sparkling water, stir and garnish with a sprig of mint.
1 spoonful of sugar The juice of half a lime Fresh mint 50 ml of Havana Club Añejo 3 Años Sparkling water
Mojito History:
Cuba is the undisputed birthplace of the Mojito, although the exact origin of this classic cocktail is the subject of debate. One story traces the Mojito to the 16th century when the cocktail was known as “El Draque,” in honor (or dishonor) of the English pirate and slave-trader Francis Drake.
Whatever the Mojito may have been called back then, if would have been made with “tafia,” a primitive predecessor of rum, with the other ingredients used to hide the harsh taste. The drink no doubt improved substantially in the 19th century, with the introduction of copper stills and the ageing process that led to the modern form of rum. Some insist the Mojito’s name comes from ‘mojo’, a Cuban seasoning made from lime and used to flavour dishes. Perhaps as a reference to its lime ingredient, the drink became known as the cocktail with ‘a little mojo’ – in Spanish, ‘mojito’.
By way of comparison, similar debate surrounds attempts to pinpoint the exact location of the first Cuba Libre, although most accounts hold that it was served somewhere in Havana around 1900. As for the Daiquiri, some American mining engineers sought to take credit for inventing the cocktail in 1905 in Santiago, Cuba, in a bar near a beach called Daiquiri – but it’s likely that locals in the area were drinking Daiquiris before the Americans discovered them.
You can find recipes for the Cuba Libre and Daiquiri in the “Cocktails” section of this website, in the “Cuban Classic Collection”.
Havana Mojito is the official website to discover the original mojito recipe done in the Cuban tradition at La Bodeguita Del Medio : http://www.havana-mojito.com/
