the wild drink blog

I first started bartending just before the ‘Mojito boom’ of 21st century. Up until that point punters were happy sipping on Cosmopolitans, Brambles and Long Island Iced Teas. But a mysterious spirit called rum was gaining momentum, and it took little persuasion for the drink that embodies the latino lifestyle for jazz music, small & thin dresses and care-free culture, to infiltrate its way onto the cocktail lists of virtually every bar in the country.

Part 2 – Mojito Revolution

In part 1 I talked about the roots of the Mojito and more specifically, how it was originally made and how Cuban bartenders make the drink today. In part 2 I would like to talk more about what I think it is that made this drink such a huge success and how it has managed to dominate cocktail lists ever since.

Just like James Bond, the Mojito was an unknown quantity, alluring and slightly dangerous. The drink embodied foreign culture and for the first time in a long time for a popular cocktail, incorporated the dangerous delights of rum - a spirit linked with pirates, drunken behavior and far-away lands. And just like any secret agent the drink won the hearts of our women (and men), positioning itself exactly where it needs to be – at the top of every cocktail list. Let’s take a look at how the Mojito left Cuba and snuck into the Western world almost undetected

Cuba has not been without it’s trouble in the past and I  think particularly for drinkers in the US (who cannot travel to Cuba) the Mojito was served with a large dash of rebellion, something which stuck two fingers up at the man. Unsurprisingly it was via Miami, with it’s high Cuban population with whom the drink had been popular for years, that on the turn of the millennium the Mojito spread throughout the US .

Xiomara Adolina was the patron of Nuevo Latinoin LA, she was making Mojitos years before the craze hit the US, in 2001 she said:

“..but now almost everywhere you go you can find a mojito . I think it has to do with the Cuban craze. Just like Cuban music is so popular, the food and the drinks are very hot. As a people, we were practically put to sleep for 40 years. But we Cubans are so outgoing and lively that it was only a matter of time before people noticed our music, our food and everything beautiful about our culture.”

For us in the UK (besides copying everything that the Americans do) we found the drink to be exotic and creative. The weather on the whole In Britain in pretty miserable, we have a real thing about Caribbean beaches and blue skies, the Mojito was an easy reminder of a past holiday or the promise of a future one. Not only that, but in the west we revel in simple recipes that are easy to understand and we like to know not just how, but why things work in a perfect synergy together - mint, rum, lime, sugar. Critically though, it requires some skill to make this drink and for a Brit it is important to be safe in the knowledge that someone has put some thought, time, skill and effort into shaping your drinks. A Mojito is not a cocktail that can be haphazardly cobbled together, it requires patience, dexterity and training in order to pull it off well. The turn of the millennium brought around an age where we consider more about the individual components in the food that we eat, the Mojito is a great example of utilising fresh ingredients and combining them together on an order by order basis.

Bryan Fuller, Manager of the Standard Bar on Sunset Strip said (in 2001):

“The mojito pleases anyone who wants something a little sweet but with a little bit of a kick. But the ingredients give it this allure. I don’t know, whoever invented it sure knew what they were doing.”

The use of herbs (and whole fruit) meant that new techniques needed to be used. There was no cutting corners here, limes need to be juiced and mint needed to be muddled, all under the watchful eye of a heavily salivating customer. Why order a cocktail that is shaken in a tin, when you can see and smell the fresh crisp mint in your Mojito being gently bruised right in front of your eyes? The Mojito is all about taking the customers involvement in their drink to the next level.

Frank Anguiano, bartender at the Monmant Bar on Sunset Boulevard (in 2001) says:

“Each one takes one to two minutes, but I can’t stop making them. People order one, and pretty soon they’re on their third one because it tastes like a mint lemonade, and they can’t taste the alcohol. Then, all of a sudden, boom! In Hollywood, they’re probably so popular because everybody here is into the natural herbs and yada yada yada. Everything in a mojito is fresh.”

Indeed it is. I wonder if the continued success of the drink has anything to do with the ‘healthy’ connotation attached fresh herbs, even despite the alcohol content of the drink? Could it be that in a decade which has brought us bottled smoothies and juice bars, we have even turned to what we envisage to be more wholesome cocktails?

Perhaps the Mojito did gain a foothold by appearing to be good for you, but I believe that in addition to this – it has become a drinking icon, an indication of status, decision based on a quality and social standing. Just like its predecessors before – Cosmopolitan, Margarita, Moscow Mule, Martini, Manahttan, the Mojito now sits proudly as a drink which has shaped the drinking habits of a generation. 

The Urban Beach Hotel in Bournemouth have an entire section of their cocktail list devoted to Mojitos, with a choice of different rums, fruit and even sugars that can be incorporated into your drink. On New Years Eve 2009 they got through 2kg of mintin Mojitos, Jimmy O’Palm the manager says:

“It’s just the name, half the time people don’t even know that it’s got rum in it, they just know that they want it. I think that muddling has become the new shaking, martinis are out and crushing, bruising and smashing is in – the customers are looking for something a little more rustic and rough around the edges”

So what makes a good Mojito?

Well, for me there are a few key things which go into making the drink taste and look good.

The mint needs to be fresh.Floppy old mint not only looks flaccid and soggy, but also provides much less flavour and aroma to the drink. Always use the freshest mint you can get, a herb container in the fridge will vastly extend the lifespan.

Rum needs to be aged.Despite the original drink being made with white or very young rum, these days you should be looking for a decent anejo rum in your cocktail. The rum will stand up to the lime and mint, shining through and providing a richer, longer finish to the drink.

Don’t use whole lime.It is impossible to muddle mint in the correct fashion with whole lime in the glass too. Not only that, but the zest can often overpower the subtleties of the mint and rum, just use the juice.

Be gentle with the mint. Crushing, tearing or bashing the mint is not only a waste of energy, but it also releases bitter, grassy flavours from the leaves tarnishing your drink. A light bruising is all that is required.

Use plenty of crushed ice. Fill the glass with as much ice as possible, your drink will look better and dilute more slowly. The ice also works to hold the mint leaves throughout the length of the glass.

Use gomme or sugar syrup.It’s very hard to entirely dissolve granulated sugar in any drink, but particularly one where building is required. And no, don’t muddle granulated sugar into the mint leaves.

You can see my Mojito recipe here. If you have your own please feel free to include it in the comments.

I wish I knew what the next big thing was going to be, a cocktail that will take us in to the 2010’s. What I do know is that the Mojito will one day be surpassed by another drink, the name of which will be shouted across bars countless times all over the world.

References:

LA Times - Shake It Up, Baby: Cuban Cocktail Is Making a Splash - Maria Elena Fernandez

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