Cuban Mojito

"It is the destiny of mint to be crushed." Waverley Root

Mojitos! Aren't they the best? I've been to Cuba twice on vacation and both times I have spent the week enjoying countless mojitos! They travel well too, you know! They are great brought down to the beach, equally as yummy by the pool, sipped with delight in the hotel lobby, lounging on the patio, lying in bed in one's hotel room... Have I gone too far? Nah!! They are even fantastic sitting on the couch with my sweetie Kev here in Georgetown! Recently our friend Adrienne was back in Varedaro for her friend's wedding. As soon as I heard about her trip, I had a vision of a mojito! While at my parent's house on Monday, my Mum showed me her herb garden. Mint. Again, mojito! Later on that day, I opened up my parent's fridge and saw limes. That's when I made my decision... It's mojito time! So off I went to the grocery store yesterday afternoon to pick up the supplies, got out my muddler (bought in Cuba), put on the 'Buena Vista Social Club' soundtrack and waited for Kev to get home! Finally he arrived, a bottle of Havana Club white rum in hand. I grabbed the mint I had picked from my Mum's garden, sliced up a lime, opened the club soda and the bag of sugar. Kev mixed the drinks. We remembered how the poolside bartender would make our mojitos and went for it. Once finished, we plunged our straws in and sipped with anticipation... Oh my word!! They were exactly the same! We were both transported back to Veradero. They were so good that i decided to share our recipe with you!

Simple and Tasty Recipe:
Mojito
(makes 1 pint glass)

8 mint leaves
2-3 tsp turbinado sugar
1/2 lime, cut into wedges
2 oz Havana Club white rum (there's no point using anything else, it's the best!)
club soda
ice

.in a glass, add mint and lime, mash with your muddler (or use the handle of a spatula or something a bit thicker)
.add in the sugar and ice
.pour over rum, stir, top with club soda
.garnish with a sprig of mint

As usual, this is just a guideline! Play with it and come up with your own perfect mix! I have to admit, I like more sugar... Make sure you only make one mojito at a time, never mix a pitcher, it won't be the same! Now, I'm not kidding when I recommend Havana Club Rum! Next time you to the LCBO, just look at the white rums. Most are clear like water, but Havana Club has a slight amber tinge. That's the colour of oak barrels, people! Also, Havana Club Rum smells like sugar cane and it tastes like no other. This is the real stuff and worth the few extra bucks!! You'll find that many mojito recipes call for either caster sugar (super fine), powdered sugar or simple syrup. Choose whichever one you like, but after a bit of experimentation, I actually prefer the texture of turbinado sugar. I love to sip my mojito and crunch on the sugar and mint. Mucho, mucho yummy!! A muddler is basically a pestle (without the mortar), designed to fit into a glass to crush herbs, fruit, sugar etc., to release oils and flavours. With mojito's rumoured to be more than 400 years old, don't you think it's time you made one for yourself? Disfrutar!