Mojito

IBA Official Cocktail
Type	Cocktail
Primary alcohol by volume	Rum
Served	On the rocks; poured over ice
Standard garnish	sprig of mint (Yerba buena in the original recipe)
Standard drinkware	45px Collins glass
IBA specified ingredients*	40 ml (8 parts) White rum 30 ml (6 parts) Fresh lime juice 3 leaves of Mint 2 teaspoons Sugar Soda Water
Preparation	Mint sprigs muddled with sugar and lime juice. Rum added and topped with soda water. Garnished with sprig of mint leaves. Served with a straw.

Mojito ( /moʊˈhiːtoʊ/; Spanish: [moˈxito]) is a traditional Cuban highball.

Traditionally, a mojito is a cocktail that consists of five ingredients: white rum, sugar (traditionally sugar cane juice), lime juice, sparkling water and mint. The original Cuban recipe uses spearmint or yerba buena, a mint variety very popular on the island.^[1][2] Its combination of sweetness, refreshing citrus and mint flavors are intended to complement the potent kick of the rum, and have made this clear highball a popular summer drink.^[3][4] The cocktail has a relatively low alcohol content (about 10 percent alcohol by volume).

When preparing a mojito, lime juice is added to sugar (or syrup) and mint leaves. The mixture is then gently mashed with a muddler. The mint leaves should only be bruised to release the essential oils and should not be shredded.^[5] Then rum is added and the mixture is briefly stirred to dissolve the sugar and to lift the mint leaves up from the bottom for better presentation. Finally, the drink is topped with whole ice cubes and sparkling soda water. Mint leaves and lime wedges are used to garnish the glass.^[6]

The mojito is one of the most famous rum-based highballs. There are several versions of the mojito.^[7]

Origin[link]

Cuba is the birthplace of the Mojito, although the exact origin of this classic cocktail is the subject of debate.^[8] One story traces the Mojito to a similar 19th century drink known as "El Draque", after Francis Drake.^[4] It was made initially with tafia/aguardiente, a primitive predecessor of rum,^[4] but rum was used as soon as it became widely available to the British (ca. 1650). Mint, lime and sugar were also helpful in hiding the harsh taste of this spirit. While this drink was not called a Mojito at this time, it was still the original combination of these ingredients.

Some historians contend that African slaves who worked in the Cuban sugar cane fields during the 19th century were instrumental in the cocktail's origin.^[8] Guarapo, the sugar cane juice often used in Mojitos,^[4] was a popular drink amongst the slaves who helped coin the name of the sweet nectar.^[8]

There are several theories behind the origin of the name Mojito; one such theory holds that name relates to mojo, a Cuban seasoning made from lime and used to flavour dishes.^[4][9] Another theory is that the name Mojito is simply a derivative of mojadito (Spanish for "a little wet") or simply the diminutive of mojado ("wet").Due to the vast influence of immigration from the Canary Islands, the term probably came from the mojo creole marinades adapted in Cuban using citrus vs traditional Isleno types. In the US Marine Corps there is a drink called mojo derived from mixing any liquor you have and fresh fruits, oranges, lemons, etc. and is called "MOJO".

The Mojito was a favorite drink of author Ernest Hemingway.^[10] Ernest Hemingway made the bar called La Bodeguita del Medio famous as he became one of its regulars and he wrote "My mojito in La Bodeguita, My daiquiri in El Floridita." This expression in English can still be read on the wall of the bar today, in his handwriting.^[11]

Variations[link]

• Many hotels in Havana also add Angostura bitters to cut the sweetness of the Mojito; while icing sugar is often muddled with the mint leaves rather than cane sugar, and many establishments simply use sugar syrup to control sweetness.^[12] Many bars today in Havana use lemon juice rather than fresh lime.
• Fruit-flavoured vodkas or rums, such as mango, strawberry, lychee or mandarin, are often substituted.
• A Mexican Mojito uses the Mexican native tequila instead of rum as a primary alcohol, and simple syrup instead of sugar for a sweetener. To simplify production, some restaurants will add mint leaves and peppermint extract to premade margaritas for Mexican Mojitos.
• A "Dirty Mojito" uses spiced rum, brown sugar syrup, key limes, crushed mint and soda.
• A Mojito without alcohol is called a "Virgin Mojito" or "Nojito"^[13]
• An "Apple Mojito" uses apple-flavoured liqueur as well as rum.
• The drink is also spelled Mohito and Moxito in certain cultural areas of Cuba.^{[citation needed]}
• An "English Mojito" uses gin in place of rum and sprite as a substitute for sugar/soda.^{[citation needed]}
• A "Greek Mojito" uses Metaxa Greek spirit instead of rum
• A "Mojito Royal" is a mojito with Champagne instead of club soda.
• A "Morelli Mojito" refers to a mojito made with Red Bull instead of soda water and Raspberry vodka
• A "Mojitaly" is a mojito with fernet branca instead of rum and mapo instead of lime.
• A "lychee mojito" is a mojito made with lychee syrup or liqueur and is popular in Hong Kong
• A "sojito" is a mojito made with Korean soju instead of white rum.^[14]

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mojito

• Caipirinha
• List of cocktails
• Mint julep

References[link]

The Wikibook Bartending has a page on the topic of Mojito

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (February 2011)

Rap artist/record producer Don Cash was born April 6, 1978, in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, a suburb northwest of Toronto.

In 2001, after several years working as a teenage pop journalist in Toronto, Cash decided to focus on writing and producing songs at home on his computer, releasing at least ten known full-length CD-R albums in downtown Toronto and New York City. Though distribution was unofficial and limited, news of the works by the young artist spread. By 2004, Cash had been featured in The Fader magazine and had gained many high-profile friends and admirers in the avant-garde pop music scene including James Murphy from LCD Soundsystem and DFA Records.

Precise descriptions of Don Cash's music have long confounded critics and observers. Most of his songs draw on varying elements commonly associated with, but not limited to, hip-hop, rock and electro. In 2004, The Fader's, Knox Robinson, christened Cash's sound "afroclash," a play on the "electroclash" trend sweeping the New York underground. Cash himself claimed in several 2007 interviews, that his music was simply rock & roll, though he allowed that it could be dubbed "new wave rap" if one were desperate to find a correct classification for his musical style.

In 2006, Cash released the album On The Bus on his Stereoeagle label. The debut work, which contained the club hits "Star Dust" and "Don't Crash", caught the attention of Berlin label boss and dj/producer Headman, who signed Cash to his indie electro imprint, Relish

Cash released the album II in 2007, via Relish and had success with "Disco Wreck" and "Hey There", while being remixed by Zongamin and Street Life DJs. The album was a hit with critics and audiences alike, garnering raves in The Sunday Times, i-D magazine and NME.

Don Cash spent 2008 touring in Europe, while writing and recording some 40 or 50 new songs. Freshy Fresh, Cash's third full length effort, was released in May 2010 on URBNET Records in partnership with Stereoeagle.

In November 2010, Don Cash quickly followed up Freshy Fresh by releasing Unbreakable on stereoeagle/URBNET. Containing 15 new songs written and produced by the artist, Unbreakable is Cash's first all rap LP in almost ten years.

References[link]

• The Fader Magazine, Issue #14, interview by Knox Robinson
• The Independent, July 22, 2007
• Sunday Times of London, July 22, 2007
• http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article2099727.ece
• New Musical Express (NME), August 25, 2007, page 55, review by Alex Miller
• i-D magazine, September 2007, page 288, article by Holly Shackleton
• http://www.electronicbeats.net/Music/Features/Don-Cash-Meet-The-Don-Interview