← Nouns Cooking · Drinks Bar

Ingredients

• 45 ml White rum
• 20 ml fresh lime juice
• 2 tsp white or caster sugar
• 8 mint leaves, plus a sprig to garnish
• 60 ml soda water, to top up
• crushed or cubed ice

Method

1. Put the sugar and lime juice in a tall glass and stir until the sugar has mostly dissolved.
2. Add the mint leaves and press them gently with a muddler or the end of a rolling pin a few times. You want to bruise them to release their oil, not shred them into bitter green bits.
3. Fill the glass with ice, pour in the rum and stir from the bottom up so the mint rises through the drink.
4. Top up with soda water, give one more gentle stir and garnish with a mint sprig slapped between your palms.

Tips

• For a lighter drink use 25 ml rum and more soda; the virgin mojito skips the rum entirely.
• Simple syrup is 1:1 sugar and water: stir equal amounts in a small pan over low heat until clear, cool, and keep it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Use 15 ml in place of the sugar.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

IBA (International Bartenders Association) PUNCH BBC Good Food