I must say though that I most strongly disagree w/the use of anejo rum in a Mojito. I’ve tried it both ways, and I think a rum not aged for more than 1 year works best, as this it remains in keeping with the crisp, clean, and lightly tart flavor profile of this drink. The aged rums tend to overpower with the usual vanilla and oak notes. Aged rums also don’t fare so well w/seltzer or club soda, in my opinion. Moreover, because the Mojito is almost as much about presentation as it is about taste, the darker rums that are aged detract from the clean, sparkling look of the drink.

Personally I think the absolute best choice of rum is a non-aged rhum agricole, ie 10 Cane, Starr, etc., as they simply accentuate the Mojito’s clean crisp flavor since they’re distilled directly from the cane juice.

Muddling is something that people can understand, and the use of fresh ingredients resonates with what they are told is quality by TV chefs on the proliferation of programmes out there.

These days, smart consumers want to understand exactly what and how behind everything they eat/drink, hence today’s huge emphasis on provenance of food.

You need a lot of background knowledge to understand why a cocktail like an sazerac, say, works – how many consumers even know what part of the taste comes from the absinthe, or the bitters, or the rye.

But the mojito has only 3 clear, familiar flavours that everyone can understand.

Apologies for the mini essay. I guess what I am saying is the smart, opinion-leading consumers love to understand exactly what they eat/drink, and they can do this with a mojito.

Personally, I don’t mind muddling in the whole lime, or using fine castor sugar, I have not had problems with this dissolving.

Agree though that your way is more probably more consistent and foolproof, but like you point out, the theatre is important. People seem to really like seeing every ingredient in its most un-molested state go in, lime wedges, white sugar, fresh mint leaves.

I think you can get good results from muddling the limes and sugar first, then adding the mint and bruising it. On the note of zest potentially being overpowering/bitter, I guess this is just personal preference.

One thing I might add is to smack the mint leaves/sprig garnish, so that people get a big whiff of mint as they first bring the glass up to their nose/mouth.

Really interesting post, I also wonder what the next thing will be.

I suspect that with the way things are going it may not be one landmark cocktail, but maybe a general trend toward bars creating unique offerings based some proprietary method of production, or odd/gimmicky ingredient.

As a simple example, more and more bars are using more of their own bespoke infusions.

Anthony