Mojito

Glassware: Collins (or Highball. It’s a Tall drink)
Mixing Method: Complex: Muddle, Add Ice and Build in Glass, Stir Gently – Read Footnote¹

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 to 2 oz. Lt Rum (Muddle Rum & Lime, Slap the Mint)
• 4 Lime Wedges (one half of a lime cut into quarters)
• ADD CRUSHED ICE IN 4 or 5 LAYERS MINT LEAVES IN BETWEEN (see step below)
• Several Mint Leaves (Layer the slapped mint within the crushed ice.)
• 1 oz. Simple Syrup (Drizzle the Simply Syrup² over the ice.)
• Fill with Club Soda

Garnish: Lime Squeeze Wedge and a Slapped Mint Sprig

Stir lightly and serve.

Copyright © Up or on the Rocks – Mojito Cocktail

Footnotes 👇

1. Mojito METHOD:
   
   • 4 lime wedges and 1 1/4 to 2 oz. of Light Rum NOTE: MUDDLE THESE FIRST.
   • Layer “Slapped” Mint Leaves and Crushed Ice in four layers in the glass.
   • Drizzle in 1 oz of simple syrup so it intersperses evenly throughout the ice.
   • Fill with club soda and stir gently.
   THE SCIENCE: The Muddled Fresh Lime/Rum mixture is LOW DENSITY because it’s alcohol, so it will rise through the ice and simple syrup, aided by the bubbles in the soda rising and pushing upwards. The simple syrup (HIGH DENSITY) will fall through the ice and soda. Each of these effects cause the drink’s ingredients to combine the flavors and ingredients. The slapped Mint Leaves remain in place and give off their essence. DO NOT MUDDLE, BLEND, OR SHAKE THE MINT LEAVES. Why? The Science: Mint’s “Mintiness” lies in the small oil gland hairs called trichome (also see indumentum) growing from the undersurface of the leaf, and not from within the interior of the cell walls where all of the bitter flavors of the plant are located (in mint family the leaves are covered in fine trichome hairs or indumentum, which contain the essential oils.). It is during the rapid growth phase that the most mint is available. Once max growth occurs mint oil levels quickly decline from their peak. Chlorophyll itself (the green molecule found in plants that absorbs sunlight during photosynthesis and converts it to energy) is not bitter or bad for you, though that is a commonly held myth among bartenders. Also, according to WebMD “People use chlorophyll as medicine, so chlorophyll may even be desirable in a Mojito, were it not for the tannins and other(?) bitter compounds. Common sources of chlorophyll used for medicine include alfalfa, algae, and silkworm droppings. Chlorophyll is used for bad breath and reducing colostomy odor. Chlorophyll is also used for constipation, ‘detoxification,’ and wound healing.” So while the Chlorophyll may add a nice green, doesn’t taste bad, and can’t hurt the drink – the other parts of the cell interior will add bitterness. Most likely that element is the Tannins known to be found in Mint Leaves. Tannins, a group of alcohol soluble bitter and astringent compounds, can be found abundantly in nature. They’re present in the wood, bark, leaves and fruit of plants. If you crush the leaves, you would unbalance the flavors in the drink, and then want to add more sweetener to try to mask it, but the longer the damaged, crushed and Tannin leaking cells are mingling and dissolving the Tannic Acid into the alcohol, the more bitter the drink becomes, and this happens rather quickly. What neutralizes bitter taste? Bitter is the opposite of acidic/sour so adding muddled citrus juice to the help balance the drink. It may also be a good idea to remove the mint leaves from the Mojito after a time.[↩]
2. The Simple Syrup will coat the ice on the way down to the bottom of the glass which will facilitate mixing when the Club Soda is added, and the lighter than water Rum/Lime Juice mixture rises (helped by the carbonation) towards the top.[↩]

Footnotes 👆