Mojito

The mojito is one of those drinks I'd always intended to blog, but it's taken time to build up to it. I've tasted an amazing mango variant and attempted a party version, but making a proper one at home takes some effort. A supply of fresh mint can be an almighty obstacle for starters, and that's before you've considered the crushed ice. Oh, and it helps morale if it's not raining outside. But I had to get round to it eventually, mainly because this Cuban refresher is a truly special cocktail.

Mojito

Six mint leaves
45ml (1.5oz) white rum
15ml (0.5oz) simple syrup
1/2 lime
45ml (1.5oz) soda water
Crushed ice*

Place five mint leaves and the simple syrup into a highball glass and use a muddler to gently mash the leaves to release the minty oils. Add the half a lime (slicing into four segments works nicely) and muddle some more, taking care not to shred the mint leaves (get too rough and they can taste bitter). Add crushed ice, then the rum, and stir carefully. Add soda water, and some more ice if necessary, and garnish with another mint leaf.

*For crushed ice: Put some ice cubes into a plastic bag, wrap with a tea towel and whack with a hammer until suitably crushed. Best attempted outside.

So there you go. This is a rewarding cocktail, even if - as has been written elsewhere - it's a pain-in-the-ass to make. But life wasn't supposed to be simple, right? No, it was supposed to be difficult, easy to mess up, complicated, and ultimately disappointing on an existential level. Time for another mojito, methinks.