A Cuban summer
I had my first Mojito 5 years ago in a Cuban bar in the South Beach neighborhood of San Francisco. White rum, sugar and fresh mint in a sparkling, fragrant mixture of lime juice and soda water. I’m not big on strong booze but that drink was so good I finished it before the waiter got back behind his bar.
As this site explains it, The Mojito is not just a drink, it’s a way of life… (you’re… hic!… damn right!)
The Mojito was born in Cuba from a drink called the Draque. In the mid-nineteenth century, the Draque’s original recipe was changed to include rum – and the Mojito cocktail was born. Shortly thereafter Cubans everywhere were making them. The Mojito cocktail became a national passion and by the mid-1920’s it was, unofficially at least, the national drink of Cuba.
Since a real Mojito (pronounced Mo-hee-toe) with fresh mint is rather hard to find in local bars (never drink that mint syrup stuff), I decided to try and make my own. I got this recipe from the great (but no longer updated) cocktail section of HotWired.
2-3 ounces light rum
1 ounce lime (from a fresh lime)
2 teaspoons sugar
Fresh Mint
Fill with ice and soda water
Place sugar, a large pinch (small handful) of mint, and splash of soda water in a pint glass. Use muddler to lightly press mint and dissolve sugar until it smells of spearmint gum. (Note: some recipes say that you should crush the mint stalks, not the leaves, to release essential oils). Squeeze both halves of lime into the glass, leaving one hull in the mixture. Add rum, stir, and fill with ice. Top with soda water, garnish with mint sprig and serve.
Too much work? I found two places in Montreal that serve Mojitos worth mentioning. Both of these places are on l’avenue Mont-Royal.
Coq en stock (1241 Mont-Royal): A great little Caribbean restaurant serving mostly chicken. Karl, who loves to dream and comment about Montreal’s waitresses, would love the friendly women who work there, and I bet you he wouldn’t mind their sweet mojitos either!
Barraca Rhumerie & Tapas (1134 Mont-Royal) : A recent addition to the bars on Mont-Royal, with a nice, quiet terrace in the back. The mojitos there are strong on lime juice and rum.
