History of cocktail mojito and how to cook mojito

Often, fans of the Mojito cocktail do not spare neither time nor energy with, enthusiastically discussing how to cook mojito. Simple cocktail in the preparation, it is pleasant to many and leaves a pleasant refreshing aftertaste.

Before preparing the mojito at home, it may be a good idea to get acquainted with its history. The birthplace of this drink is considered to be Cuba, and more specifically the Havana restaurant "La Bodegita del Medio" in the era of dry American law.

Although, at the end of the sixteenth century, Sir Richard Drake, the confidant of Sir Francis Drake, the corsair of the British Crown, invented the first version of mojito from the following components: aguardiente or tafia (a kind of cheap rum), sugar, lime and mint.

Alcohol imparted heat to the body, lime containing vitamin C, promoted the prevention of scurvy, mint refreshed, and sugar softened the sharp and not very pleasant taste. While the drink did not call Mojito, the recipe consisted of an original combination of these ingredients.

It should be noted that the mint that was used for the cocktail is the buena birch ("good grass"), which grows in the wild in the Spanish-speaking countries of the Western Hemisphere. In Cuba, where the buena's ramrod grows spontaneously, like a weed, it is known as a Nemorosa cop, a large apple mint or just a Cuban mint.

Since the second half of the nineteenth century, when they began to produce refined and refined rum, he replaced the tafia. A cocktail, cooked in a similar way, became known as Drakesito or El Drake, in honor of the alleged creator.

According to another version, which has many supporters, slaves brought from Africa who worked on sugarcane plantations in Cuba also knew how to cook mojito. Sugar cane juice (guarapo), often used in Mojito recipes, was a popular drink among slaves.

As for the etymology of the name, in this case, not one option is considered. In one it is claimed that mojito is derived from moss, Cuban sauce, made from olive oil, garlic, pepper, caraway and flavored with lime (or lemon). Another version is that Mojito is a derivative of "Mohadito", a diminutive form of the word Mojado (Wet). By the way, mohado and mohadito has other meanings. Mojado can be translated as despised, and the Mohadito in the United States call illegal immigrants from Mexico who crossed the Rio Grande.

The last hypothesis, more intriguing and, undoubtedly, noteworthy, says that "moss" in the context of Voodoo means "magic."

But we will return to Cuba, to the Havana restaurant La Bodeguita del Medio. Attention to how to prepare mojito in the modern version, told the world Attilio De La Fuente, his name is inscribed in the history of the cocktail in "golden letters". It is said that he loved his work so much that he never tired of improvising, coming up with new cocktail combinations.

Mojito performed by Attilio De La Fuente represented a wonderful drink made from the leaves of buena, red rum, white cane sugar, lime juice and soda water. Chilled mojito, as it is customary to serve, has a special taste due to the fresh aroma of mint and the mild taste of good rum. It should be borne in mind that mint in a cocktail should be mature, then it is less stiff and not bitter.

Popularized the Cuban mojito, and with it the restaurant "La Bodeguita del Medio" American writer Ernest Hemingway, in which he was a regular customer. On the wall in the restaurant there is an inscription made by Hemingway and framed: "My Mojito in La Bodeguita. My Daiquiri in El Florida. "

And, finally, how to prepare mojito at home. This requires the following ingredients: sugar (to taste, but on average one measuring spoon), lime fruit juice, fresh mint leaves, 50 milliliters of white rum, carbonated water and ice.

In a cocktail glass you need to put sugar and mint. Let it brew, crushing the mint a little, but trying not to break the leaves. Then add the juice of the lime fruit, more leaves of mint and ice. Mix rum and soda water to taste, adding to the cooked ingredients. Decorate the cocktail with a figuratively carved lime peel and mint leaves.