Mojito Recipe: How to Make the Perfect Cuban Classic
The mojito recipe is one of the most recognizable cocktails in the world — a combination of white rum, fresh mint, lime, sugar, and soda water that is so refreshing on a warm day that it barely needs any further recommendation. Cuba's most famous cocktail export has been enjoyed at La Bodeguita del Medio in Havana since the 1940s, and it has spread globally precisely because its formula is so well-balanced and its flavors so universally appealing. Making it well at home is a matter of understanding each component's role.
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Mojito Recipe: Ingredients and the Right Rum
The classic mojito recipe calls for 2 oz white rum, 0.75 oz fresh lime juice, 0.75 oz simple syrup (or 2 teaspoons of white sugar), 10–12 fresh mint leaves, and about 3 oz of soda water. White rum is correct — use Havana Club Añejo 3 Años, Bacardi Superior, or Plantation 3 Stars. Aged or dark rums add barrel character that competes with the mint and lime rather than complementing them. Avoid flavored rums entirely. The mint should be fresh spearmint if possible (the variety used at Cuban bars), though regular garden mint works well. The lime must be squeezed fresh — the difference between a mojito made with fresh lime and one made with bottled juice is the difference between a good cocktail and a poor one.
How to Muddle the Mint Correctly
Mint muddling is where most mojitos go wrong — see our complete muddling technique guide for the full method. Place the mint leaves and sugar (or simple syrup) in the bottom of a tall glass. If using granulated sugar, add the lime juice before muddling — the acidity helps dissolve the sugar. Press the muddler gently against the mint, rotating and pressing ten to twelve times. You are trying to bruise the leaves to release the oils from the cell walls, not destroy them. If the mint turns dark green and the glass smells of cut grass rather than fresh mint, you have gone too far. The correctly muddled result smells vibrantly mint-fresh and looks like gently pressed, still-green leaves at the bottom of the glass. Add your rum now, before the ice, to allow the mint oils to infuse briefly.
Building the Mojito in the Glass
The mojito is a built drink — constructed directly in the serving glass rather than shaken or stirred in a mixing vessel. After muddling and adding your rum, fill the glass halfway with crushed ice, then pour in your soda water slowly down the side of the glass to preserve as much carbonation as possible. Add more crushed ice until the glass is nearly full, mound it slightly above the rim, and garnish with a generous sprig of fresh mint slapped between your palms to wake up the aromatics before inserting it into the ice where your nose will be close to it as you drink. A lime wheel on the rim completes the presentation. Drink immediately — a mojito with flat soda is a significantly diminished experience.
Why Crushed Ice Matters
Crushed ice is not merely traditional in a mojito — it serves a functional purpose. The small fragments of ice chill the drink rapidly and create a frosty, textured drinking experience as you sip through the straw or directly from the glass. Crushed ice also integrates the mint, lime, and rum more fully as it settles into the drink. If you do not have a crushed ice machine or ice crusher, place regular ice cubes in a zip-lock bag and beat firmly with a rolling pin until you have coarse, irregular fragments. Cubed ice works in a pinch but produces a less cohesive, colder-at-first-then-faster-diluting drink that does not quite have the same character.
Mojito Variations
The mojito's flexible architecture accommodates seasonal fruit additions beautifully. (For more rum-based options, see our best rum cocktails guide.) A Strawberry Mojito muddled three to four ripe strawberries alongside the mint before building the drink — the strawberry adds sweetness and a pink blush that looks spectacular. A Mango Mojito uses a tablespoon of mango purée added after the muddling step. A Blackberry Basil Mojito swaps the mint for fresh basil (muddled very gently since basil is even more fragile than mint) and adds five or six blackberries to the muddle. A Coconut Mojito uses coconut water in place of soda water for a tropical variation that is particularly effective with Plantation Pineapple rum. The Stir Genius app's Mojito variations page offers a full seasonal collection with precise quantities for each version.
Batching Mojitos for a Party
Batching mojitos presents a specific challenge: mint deteriorates quickly once muddled and exposed to alcohol, and the drink needs soda water added at service to maintain its effervescence. The best approach is to make a large batch of the rum-lime-sugar-mint base without the soda water — muddle the mint with the sugar in a large pitcher, add rum and lime juice, stir gently, then keep refrigerated covered with plastic wrap for no more than two hours. Strain the mint out before serving if it has muddled long enough to start turning dark. At service, add crushed ice to individual glasses, pour in about 3 oz of the pre-made base, and top with fresh soda water. The result is nearly indistinguishable from made-to-order mojitos and requires no bartending at the party.
The mojito rewards its maker with one of the most refreshing drinks in existence when made with care — fresh mint, fresh lime, and the restraint to muddle gently — and it rewards the drinker with a cocktail that tastes like summer in a glass.
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